Bitter Repercussions
by TheShadowedWarrior
Summary: Set in "A Dangerous Path," Fireheart obeys Bluestar's orders and gathers the patrol for the attack on WindClan, but suffers a near-fatal injury during the battle. As Cinderpelt struggles to heal him, Bluestar must face the reality that her rash decisions have nearly cost her deputy his life, as well as deal with the blame being put on her shoulders from his closest friends.
1. Gathering The Patrol

**Alright, this is the fanfic I planned for the first Warriors AU listed on my profile. Oh yeah, and I don't own Warriors. I don't know why I need to mention that, seeing as it should be pretty obvious, but I guess rules are rules.**

* * *

Fireheart stepped out of Bluestar's den, feeling the ThunderClan leader's eyes burning into his fur as he retreated. His leader had just ordered him to gather a patrol of warriors for her to lead into battle against WindClan. But as he tried to think of which warriors he wanted to take, every hair on his pelt was screaming in protest. He _knew _this was an unjust battle; there had been no sign that WindClan was responsible for the prey theft and every indication that dogs were. However Bluestar, in her clouded state of mind, was either unable or unwilling to see sense.

Almost instinctively, Fireheart found himself padding towards Cinderpelt's den. The gray she-cat had advised him before; surely she would be able to help him through this new problem now. When he peered inside the fern tunnel, however, he couldn't see any sign of Cinderpelt anywhere.

_She must be out collecting herbs, _the flame-pelted warrior thought despondently. _Now, what do I do? _

There had been a time when he held Bluestar's word in the highest regard, and he would never have dared question an order from her. Not just because the warrior code forbade such disobedience, but because he could always trust her to make honest, wise decisions. But ever since Tigerstar's treachery was exposed, she had slowly dissolved into madness, and her sense of judgment had become fragmented. She had lost trust in all her warriors except him and maybe Whitestorm–and that was where the real issue lay.

On the one hand, Bluestar was on her ninth life, and he didn't know what the Clan would do if she lost it because of an unnecessary battle. But on the other hand, he also knew that her distrust had made her paranoid, and the only thing preventing her from completely falling into insanity was that she still felt she could trust him. If he refused to obey her orders to attack WindClan, she would become even more convinced that her Clan had turned against her.

_Well, with that logic, I suppose the choice is clear, _Fireheart thought with a sigh.

"Fireheart? You look like something's troubling you."

The fire-colored tom turned around to see Whitestorm looking at him, an expression of concern in his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to divulge his worries to the older warrior. Whitestorm was close friends with Bluestar, and he was the only one besides Fireheart and Cinderpelt who had any idea of just how mistrusting and fearful their leader had become. At the same time, however, Whitestorm was bound by the warrior code. He doubted that he would be willing to disobey Bluestar's orders, no matter how paranoid and madness-ridden they had become.

"Fireheart?" Whitestorm prompted. "Is something the matter?"

Fireheart hesitated a bit longer before replying, "Bluestar wants me to gather a patrol of warriors for a battle against WindClan."

"Ah," the white-coated warrior mewed. "There's no need to say anything else, Fireheart. Let me guess; you're feeling conflicted about her orders?"

"Putting it lightly," Fireheart meowed wryly. He sighed, then added, "You know as well as I do that she's not been herself lately, and for that reason, I suppose it would probably be best to follow her directions. She's lost faith in everything she ever believed in; I don't need to give her more problems. But I can't see how it could be the will of StarClan that we attack an innocent Clan."

"But it could be the will of StarClan that you do all you can to keep Bluestar's mind at ease," Whitestorm pointed out.

"I–I never thought of it like that," Fireheart admitted. "But...I still..."

"Are you worried about how this will affect your friendship with WindClan?" Whitestorm asked gently. Fireheart hesitated, then nodded, ashamed. "Fireheart, you have to understand that your loyalty comes to ThunderClan first. Friendships cannot exist across borders forever. I have no doubt WindClan will always remember what you did for them, but there's a time when you need to end your friendship with them. Perhaps now is that time."

Fireheart wanted to protest, but he couldn't find the right words. Deep down, he knew that Whitestorm was right. He was a ThunderClan warrior; no matter what had transpired between him and WindClan, ThunderClan was where his loyalties lay. Perhaps it would be for the best if his friendship with the moor-dwelling cats ended. Fireheart only wished that it didn't have to conclude in such bitter fashion.

"Alright, I understand," he meowed finally. "Thanks for the advice, Whitestorm. I'm going to go gather that patrol of warriors."

Whitestorm nodded, a look of sympathy flashing in his eyes. "Good decision, Fireheart," he mewed approvingly. "If you'd like, I'll come on the patrol. I can help keep an eye on Bluestar that way. Brightpaw can come as well; it would be good experience for her."

Fireheart blinked at him gratefully. With Bluestar on her ninth life, she needed every bit of protection possible, and he knew he could trust Whitestorm with keeping their leader safe. That also made his task of deciding which cats to take on the battle patrol slightly easier.

"Right," he mewed out loud. "So we'll take you, Brightpaw, Sandstorm, Cloudpaw, Mousefur, Swiftpaw, Longtail, Dustpelt, and–"

He broke off, a brief moment of hesitation gripping him as he debated whether or not to include Darkstripe in the battle. The tabby warrior was a decent fighter, and his skill would undoubtedly be needed if they were going to take on WindClan. Fireheart had personal reasons for wanting Darkstripe where he could keep his eye on him too, not liking the idea of leaving the treacherous warrior at camp without him or Bluestar to keep an eye on him. At the same time, however, Darkstripe had been one of Tigerstar's biggest supporters, and Fireheart guessed that Bluestar would be about as thrilled about his presence as she would if StarClan prophecized that Tigerstar would gain the power to rain down fire upon the Clans.

"What is it now?" Whitestorm inquired.

"I'm just wondering whether to take Darkstripe or not," Fireheart meowed.

"If you take Darkstripe, that doesn't leave many warriors to guard the camp," Whitestorm reminded him.

"I know," Fireheart answered. "But I don't like the idea of leaving Darkstripe at camp without Bluestar or me around. I don't trust a single hair on his pelt."

"Just because he was friends with Tigerstar doesn't mean he's untrustworthy," the older warrior meowed.

"It's not about who he was friends with!" Fireheart protested, even though he knew very well it wasn't entirely true. "Longtail was friends with Tigerstar as well, but he at least seems like he's trying to be a loyal ThunderClan cat. But I've already seen Darkstripe seek out Tigerstar at a Gathering, Whitestorm, and he looked pretty excited the first time we found out he was ShadowClan's new leader too. I know I'd be thrilled if any of my friends became Clan leader, but this isn't just pure friendship. Tigerstar's a murderer and a traitor, and Darkstripe knows this, but he continues to seek him out as if they're friends. And if he's willing to do that when he knows Bluestar might be watching, imagine what he'll do when she's not."

"You could try setting a guard," Whitestorm suggested. "Have one of the other warriors keep an eye on Darkstripe while we're gone."

_Hmm, I suppose that could work, _Fireheart mused to himself. Out loud, he mewed, "Very well. But who should I ask to watch him?"

"You could ask Frostfur," Whitestorm meowed.

The white warrior's suggestion sounded like a good idea to Fireheart. Cinderpelt was Frostfur's daughter, and he knew she had been devastated when Tigerstar's trap had crippled the gray she-cat, ending any dreams she'd had of becoming a warrior. Fireheart guessed that she would be more than happy to keep an eye on the cat who had been Tigerstar's most prominent supporter when he was still a member of ThunderClan. He nodded his approval, then dipped his head in farewell before turning to leave to report to Bluestar.

Bluestar was curled up in her nest when he entered her den, but Fireheart could see that she was awake. Her blue eyes narrowed when she saw him, and he winced, remembering the hostility in her voice when she berated him for questioning her orders to attack WindClan. Apparently she still hadn't forgiven him for that, but he refused to let it trouble him.

"Yes, Fireheart? What do you want?" she meowed, half-irritable, half-suspicious.

"Just reporting, Bluestar," Fireheart mewed, dipping his head respectfully. "I've chosen the warriors for the battle. We'll be taking Whitestorm, Brightpaw, Cloudpaw, Sandstorm, Longtail, Swiftpaw, Mousefur, and Dustpelt."

"Good," Bluestar mewed, and to Fireheart's relief her expression softened a little. "Have you informed them yet?"

Fireheart shook his head. "Whitestorm knows, but the others are out on patrol. I'll let them know once they've returned," he promised, dipping his head and backing out of the den.

As he padded away from the Highrock and into the clearing, Fireheart paused for a moment to take one last glance back at his leader's den. He wanted to believe that he was making the right decision by following her orders–but somehow, he still couldn't shake the sick feeling churning in his stomach.


	2. The Battle

As soon as the moon had begun to set, the warriors Fireheart had gathered for the attack on WindClan had assembled at the camp entrance. Fireheart himself was pacing about restlessly, trying in vain to ignore the ever-growing feeling of unease in the pit of his stomach. As the patrol waited for Bluestar's arrival, the ginger tom could feel the others' gazes trained on him, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"Fireheart, what's wrong?" Sandstorm asked finally. "Honestly, you're going to wear yourself out before we even leave if you keep this up."

"I know, I know," Fireheart muttered, forcing himself to pause in his pacing. "Sorry. I guess I'm just feeling a little restless."

"Why? Are you nervous?" the pale ginger she-cat meowed curiously.

Fireheart hesitated for a moment, then mewed, "I guess I am a little."

"What's wrong? Are you worried that we're going to lose?" Longtail asked, although for once it wasn't with his usual sneer.

"No!" Fireheart meowed quickly. "No, it's got nothing to do with winning or losing. I–I don't know, I have a feeling that something bad might happen, but I can't say why or what it might be. But it doesn't have anything to do with whether or not we're going to win."

"It could be stress," Mousefur suggested calmly, observing him with her pale-colored eyes. "You _have _been working pretty hard lately, Fireheart. Perhaps the stress is finally starting to catch up and making you feel anxious."

"Yeah, that's probably it," Fireheart agreed.

Sandstorm didn't look convinced, however, and opened her mouth to continue pressing the ThunderClan deputy for an explanation. Fortunately, Fireheart was saved having to answer to anyone as Bluestar finally made her appearance. She still looked frail, but her pelt shone, and her eyes burned with the fierce light of battle. Somehow, Fireheart wasn't sure if he felt reassured by that or not.

"Are we ready?" she snapped, brushing past Fireheart. "Come on; we don't have all day."

Without even waiting for a response, she led the way out of the gorse tunnel and towards the WindClan border. Fireheart gave a small sigh and padded after his leader, followed shortly by the rest of the patrol. He kept a few paces behind Bluestar, hoping his uncertainty wasn't showing on his face. The last thing he needed was for Bluestar to start questioning his loyalties right when they were about to go into battle.

It seemed to take moons to reach the WindClan border. Finally, just as the sun was beginning to peer over the horizon, Fireheart saw the familiar moorlands coming into view. Despite his misgivings, he felt the fire of battle starting to ignite from somewhere within himself. No matter what, he would do whatever it took to prove to Bluestar that she could still trust her warriors.

"So what's the plan, Bluestar?" he asked quietly.

"Put simply, attack and steal as much of their prey as possible," the old she-cat meowed in response. A bit louder, Bluestar continued, "Mousefur and Dustpelt, you two will be responsible for scavenging their prey. The rest of us will take care of fighting off any WindClan warriors."

There were a few meows of agreement before the group fell silent once more, still walking their way towards the uplands. When they reached the foot of the border, Fireheart closed his eyes and took a small breath. In just a few heartbeats, he would be partaking in possibly the most unjust battle he would ever fight in. He would be destroying his friendships with Onewhisker, Morningflower, and Gorsepaw, as well as increasing the animosity between him and Mudclaw.

_But if it's for Bluestar's sake, then I have to do it, _he reminded himself. He refused to allow his mind to consider the possibility that Bluestar was beyond saving at this point, rendering the sacrifice of his friendships utterly useless.

Sandstorm padded up beside him, brushing her pelt against his. "Don't worry," she murmured gently. "Everything will turn out just fine. You'll see."

Fireheart blinked at her gratefully. "Thanks, Sandstorm," he meowed.

Bluestar's ear twitched slightly, but other than that she did not indicate that she had heard what transpired between her two warriors. Fireheart glanced over at her, but the blue-gray she-cat wasn't even looking in his direction. Instead, she had fixed her gaze on the opposite side of the border, and the expression in her blue eyes simultaneously chilled him to the bone and burned into his fur. She looked more like the Bluestar he had met when he first arrived in the Clan and less like the old defeated cat he'd come to know over the past few moons, and Fireheart felt a pang of regret in knowing that it was a terrible lapse in judgment that had brought out this side of her.

"Are we ready?" Bluestar meowed sharply. The rest of the patrol meowed in assent. "Very well, then. ThunderClan, attack!"

_Here goes nothing, _Fireheart thought, taking a deep breath before plunging over the other side of the border.

He raced alongside Bluestar, almost overtaking her a few times but always stopping himself before he did. Despite this, however, she didn't seem displeased in the slightest. Instead, she appeared to have taken it as a sign of his complete and utter commitment to the battle, and Fireheart could see a glimmer of approval in her eyes as she looked at him. Unfortunately, it didn't spark the same feeling of warmth as it once had.

They had almost reached the WindClan camp when they came across a patrol, lead by none other than the WindClan deputy, Deadfoot. The lame warrior's eyes widened in shock for a brief moment before filling with cold fury, his lips drawn back in a snarl.

"ThunderClan!" he spat. Turning to the young apprentice beside him, he meowed, "Rabbitpaw, go back to camp and warn the others. Tell them ThunderClan are attacking."

Rabbitpaw nodded and turned around, dashing back towards the WindClan camp. Bluestar, however, chose to ignore him and hurled herself at Deadfoot instead. The two warriors crashed to the ground, spitting and clawing, as more fighting and chaos broke out around them. Before long, Fireheart found himself battling fiercely with Tornear, slashing and swiping at the tom while doing all he could to avoid the blows being rained down upon him.

Whatever happened next, Fireheart knew it was too late to turn back now. If it were StarClan's will that he fight in an unnecessary battle, then he would have to accept his reality. And if not, then they would have to wait and see what the consequence of their actions would be.

* * *

By the time the ThunderClan warriors reached the WindClan camp, Fireheart was sporting several new bites and scratches. However, the ginger tom still felt relatively fresh and was confident that he could hold out until the end of the battle. He glanced over at Bluestar and was relieved to see that, while she was bleeding a bit from her left shoulder, she didn't appear to be badly hurt.

A little ways away, Dustpelt was battling Onewhisker, who was desperately attempting to defend his Clan's fresh-kill. Fireheart felt guiltily relieved that he didn't have to fight his friend; even though he had accepted the fact that he needed to cut ties with WindClan, that didn't make the actual task of doing so any more comfortable. As he watched, Dustpelt gave one last blow to Onewhisker's flank and sent him fleeing towards what Fireheart guessed was their medicine den.

"Kittypet!" A moment later, Fireheart had the wind knocked out of him as Mudclaw slammed into his side, knocking him off balance. "Come and fight me like a warrior, you cowardly piece of fox dung!"

"You're one to talk," Fireheart hissed back, slashing at Mudclaw and opening a gash above the WindClan tom's forehead. "Been stopping any more Clan leaders from trying to visit the Moonstone lately?"

Mudclaw snarled at him. "You've renounced your right to StarClan, and this attack on us proves it once and for all."

"Save the talk for someone who cares." Fireheart gave a mighty heave and managed to launch Mudclaw halfway across the camp where he landed painfully on the ground, stunned. Satisfied that his enemy would be down for some time, he turned around to see if any of his Clanmates needed assistance. He saw Mousefur being tag-teamed by Webfoot and Ashfoot and quickly raced over to help, dragging Ashfoot off of Mousefur and raking his claws over her flank. Meanwhile, Mousefur pummeled Webfoot with her hind paws, and eventually, the two WindClan warriors were forced to flee.

"Thanks for that, Fireheart," Mousefur meowed gratefully.

"Anytime," Fireheart replied. "Have you managed to get any of their fresh-kill yet?"

Mousefur nodded before her eyes suddenly filled with alarm. "Fireheart, watch out!" she yowled, staring at something over his shoulder.

Startled by her sudden outburst, the flame-colored warrior turned around to see what was worrying his Clanmate, which turned out to be a fatal mistake. Mudclaw, having recovered from their earlier encounter, was leaping at him with his claws extended. Before Fireheart could so much as blink, the mottled brown tom slashed Fireheart's stomach, opening a large gash. Blood sprayed out from the wound, and Fireheart let out a yowl of pain. He struggled to his feet, already growing dizzy from losing so much blood. Feeling his head spinning, Fireheart swiped at Mudclaw in a desperate attempt at a counterstrike but missed by several mouse-lengths.

"Say goodbye, kittypet," Mudclaw sneered, lifting his head to give Fireheart one last bite.

Knowing there was no hope of him escaping, Fireheart screwed his eyes shut and waited for the blow. A moment later, however, he felt Mudclaw's weight suddenly vanish as someone knocked the tabby warrior off of him. Before he could thank his savior, however, a wave of blackness overtook the ginger warrior and he passed out.


	3. Panic

Bluestar slashed her claws at a WindClan queen's face, opening a gash just above her right eye. Even in her admittedly fragile state, the blue-gray warrior was still a respectable fighter. She glanced around to check on how the rest of her cats were faring and was pleased to see that they had ransacked most of the fresh-kill pile. Better yet, most of WindClan's warriors appeared to have fled the battle. The only ones left fighting were Tallstar, Mudclaw, and some apprentice whose name Bluestar couldn't be bothered to remember.

_This battle should teach them not to steal ThunderClan's prey, _she thought, her tail twitching in satisfaction. Out loud, she yowled, "That's enough, ThunderClan. We've given WindClan a message they won't be forgetting anytime soon."

At once, the fighting in the camp ceased, and Tallstar stalked to meet Bluestar by the now-empty fresh-kill pile. His eyes were furious slits, and the blue-furred queen instinctively tensed her muscles, half-expecting him to launch himself at her. But the WindClan leader made no move to attack her, even as the hatred in his eyes grew even more profound.

"I hope you're satisfied," Tallstar snarled. "Now both our warriors have been injured in an unnecessary fight. You have brought down the wrath of StarClan upon your cats, Bluestar."

Bluestar snorted and opened her mouth to inform him that the wrath of her traitorous ancestors was nothing of her concern, then decided it would only be a waste of time. If Tallstar wanted to believe that StarClan had any concern for the Clans at all, that was his decision. She would teach her Clan not to follow the words of a few dead cats blindly, and they would be stronger for it.

Mudclaw staggered up to the pair, bleeding heavily from several fresh cuts and bites. Despite this, his eyes were glittering with cold triumph. Bluestar felt a twinge of confusion and fear at the expression on his face; why was he looking like that even after his Clan was defeated?

"You'd better leave," the tabby warrior sneered. "Wouldn't want ThunderClan losing their leader and deputy in one day, now would we?"

_And I don't take orders from a low-life, prey-stealing fiend like you! _Bluestar thought furiously. In her anger, it took a few heartbeats for the second part of Mudclaw's words to reach her.

"What do you mean by that?" she demanded, glaring at the arrogant tom. "What have you done with my deputy?"

If possible, Mudclaw's expression grew even smugger as he gestured with his tail towards something a little ways off to the side. Bluestar turned her gaze and saw her warriors crowded around something that she couldn't quite see from her vantage point. She did, however, spot the rapidly growing pool of blood staining their paws and slowly making its way towards her.

Feeling a sinking pit of dread in her stomach, Bluestar padded over to the ThunderClan patrol and shouldered her way in between Mousefur and Dustpelt. At once, her heart dropped as she saw Fireheart lying on the ground, blood pouring from a wound in his stomach. His eyes were closed, and for a moment Bluestar thought he was dead until she saw the faint rise and fall of his flank.

_No...oh, no, _Bluestar whispered in her mind, staring in horror at her former apprentice's injury. She was acutely aware of Tallstar coming to stand beside her but gave no acknowledgment of the rival Clan leader.

"Tallstar, please help!" Sandstorm begged suddenly. "Fireheart will never make it back to camp like this! Please, can't your medicine cat spare some cobwebs?"

"Help? Are you mouse-brained?" Mudclaw spat. Bluestar tore her gaze away from Fireheart to see the mottled brown cat stalking up to Sandstorm. "You invaded our camp and stole our prey! We're not helping any of your warriors! If Fireheart dies, then it's StarClan's punishment for this battle."

"You're wrong, Mudclaw." This time, it was Onewhisker who spoke, having joined the crowd of cats. He glared at his Clanmate and continued, "Fireheart saved our Clan, and you cannot tell me that he was responsible for this battle. If StarClan were punishing ThunderClan, why would they choose him and not Bluestar?"

Bluestar supposed she should have been offended or at least concerned by that statement, but she was finding it difficult to care at the moment. Her deputy's life was slowly bleeding out onto the WindClan camp; she didn't have time to worry about potential threats to her safety. Silently, she moved forward and pressed a paw gently against Fireheart's wound, trying desperately to staunch the flow of blood. Whitestorm came to assist her as well, but even with their combined efforts, it still wasn't enough to make any noticeable difference.

"Just because he saved our Clan once doesn't mean we owe him anything now," Mudclaw snapped.

"It was more than just once, and just because you've forgotten doesn't mean everyone else has!" Onewhisker snarled.

"Tallstar," Sandstorm spoke up again, her meow sounding hesitant now. "I know you feel that this battle was an unjust attack upon your Clan. But Onewhisker is right that Fireheart has saved WindClan multiple times, and he isn't the one who ordered this attack. All he did was follow Bluestar's orders, as any good warrior would do for their Clan leader. Please, could you spare some herbs or a few cobwebs? He'll die without them."

Privately, Bluestar thought that Sandstorm was fighting a hopeless battle. To her surprise, however, Tallstar meowed coldly, "Very well–but only because this is Fireheart we're talking about here. If it were any of your other cats..." He let the thinly veiled threat die off and spun around. "Barkface!"

A heartbeat later, the WindClan medicine cat emerged from his den. Bluestar paused briefly to watch as Barkface padded up to his leader, dipping his head respectfully. He looked a bit worn out from treating his Clanmates, and she felt a pang of regret in spite of herself. She shook her head, trying to toss the weakness away. A medicine cat in a Clan of prey thieves did not deserve her pity, no matter how many injured cats he had to treat.

"What can I do for you, Tallstar?" Barkface meowed.

"Get some cobwebs for Fireheart," Tallstar ordered curtly. "And then apply them to his wounds so that ThunderClan can finally leave our camp."

Barkface looked surprised, but he didn't dare question an order from his leader. "Of course, Tallstar," he mewed respectfully, turning around once more and disappearing back into his den.

He returned a few moments later, carrying a wad of cobwebs with him. Without a word, Bluestar and Whitestorm moved aside to allow him to reach Fireheart, who was somehow still clinging to life despite the vast amount of blood he had lost. But his breathing was shallow, and Bluestar could only hope that Barkface would be able to stop the bleeding in time to save the flame-colored warrior.

"There," the WindClan medicine cat announced a short while later. "That should be enough to keep him alive until you can get back to your camp, but I suggest you leave now. He's lost a lot of blood, and he might not have much time."

The ThunderClan warriors didn't need any more encouragement. Bluestar, Whitestorm, Sandstorm, and Mousefur lifted Fireheart's unconscious body onto their shoulders, careful not to disturb any of the cobwebs Barkface had meticulously placed on his injuries. Silently, they walked out of the WindClan camp, feeling no sense of triumph despite their victory.

_StarClan, why have you allowed this? Do you want to see my Clan destroyed by hunger caused by prey thievery? _

Even as the thought crossed her mind, however, Bluestar felt a small trickle of doubt enter her mind. Fireheart had told her himself that the patrols had scented dog on the scraps of stolen prey, not WindClan, but she had remained convinced that he was mistaken and that WindClan was indeed responsible. She had entered the battle still certain that she was in the right, but although they had emerged victorious, the fight had nearly cost Fireheart his life–and he wasn't even out of the woods yet.

_You have brought down the wrath of StarClan upon your cats, Bluestar. _

Tallstar's words sounded in Bluestar's mind again, sending a chill of fear and uncertainty down her spine. What if he was right after all? What if StarClan was indeed punishing them for the attack on WindClan?


	4. Guilt and Blame

On Longtail's orders, Swiftpaw ran ahead of the group on the walk back home to inform Cinderpelt of what had happened to Fireheart. The rest of the patrol followed more slowly but still made sure to keep a brisk pace. Even with the help of Barkface's cobwebs, Fireheart's breathing was growing shallower with each passing second, and they knew they needed to get back to camp quickly so his injuries could receive proper treatment.

When they arrived back at camp, Cinderpelt was already waiting for them outside the medicine den. As they padded across the clearing towards her, the rest of the Clan paused in their activities to stare at them in mingled fascination and horror. Ashpaw and Fernpaw whimpered at the sight of the Clan deputy, and Goldenflower wore an expression of sorrow and pity. The only cat who didn't seem remotely interested in Fireheart was Darkstripe, although no one was particularly surprised by that.

Bluestar helped set Fireheart down on the floor in Cinderpelt's den, stepping back to allow the medicine cat to get to work. Her mind was spinning, and she barely heard the younger cat as she ordered everyone to leave and let her treat Fireheart in peace. Silently, she followed Whitestorm out of the den and started towards her own, hoping that none of her warriors would stop her and ask questions. But for once, it wasn't that she didn't trust them; it had nothing to do with her Clan at all. She was just too exhausted to address her warriors, and with the added guilt of Fireheart's current state, the ThunderClan leader wanted nothing more than to curl up in her den and hide from it all.

"I hope you're pleased with yourself!" Sandstorm spat suddenly, turning on her leader. "Now thanks to you, Fireheart might die. And all because of a battle that should never have happened."

"Sandstorm," Whitestorm meowed warningly. "Don't forget you're talking to your leader here. Show some respect."

"Respect? Respect for what?" the ginger she-cat sneered. "She's hardly acted like a leader for moons! All she does these days is curl up in her den and let Fireheart do all the work. And on the rare occasion that she leaves and goes outside, she's always going on about how StarClan is at war with ThunderClan or how everyone in the Clan is a traitor. There was no trace of evidence that WindClan had anything to do with the prey theft; you know that as well as anyone else, Whitestorm. But because Bluestar's word is law, we had to get dragged into an unnecessary battle and look what happened because of it. So _I _should show her respect? Why? What has she done to deserve respect from me–or anyone else in the Clan, for that matter?"

"Sandstorm!" Whitestorm snapped. "That's enough. I understand you're upset, but attacking Bluestar isn't going to make things any better. Now, go to your nest and get some sleep. I think you could use a little rest right now."

"Don't talk to me as if I'm a kit!" Sandstorm flared up at the great white warrior before storming off towards the camp entrance. Glancing over her shoulder, she added, "And you're not my mentor anymore, so don't tell me what to do."

With that, she stormed out of camp, her tail held high in the air. Bluestar watched her go, feeling more discouraged than ever. She knew she probably should have punished the ginger warrior for speaking so disrespectfully, but Bluestar also knew that she was right. Fireheart had said the patrols had scented dog and not WindClan, but in her mistrust of the rival Clan, Bluestar had managed to convince herself that they were the ones responsible for the stolen prey after all. Now, thanks to her poor judgment, the Clan was at risk of losing its deputy, and she stood to lose one of only two warriors she still felt she could trust.

The issue wasn't finding another deputy, of course. Whitestorm was more than qualified to take Fireheart's place if necessary, and Bluestar still had just as much faith in her nephew as she did in the former kittypet she had brought into the Clan. But there was something about the flame-colored tom that struck something within Bluestar that didn't happen whenever she looked at any of her other warriors.

Not in the way Oakheart had, for Fireheart was much too young, and she was much too old for that. It was reminiscent of the feeling she'd had while raising Mistykit, Stonekit, and Mosskit before she'd been forced to give them up to save ThunderClan from Thistleclaw. Of course, no cat could ever replace her biological children, but something about Fireheart lessened the pain of watching them grow up in another Clan.

Maybe it was the fact that she could still remember him as she'd first met him, the wide-eyed kittypet who'd stared at her in awe as she described the virtues of Clan life. Maybe it was the memory of watching him walk into camp for the first time, escorted by Lionheart and Whitestorm, a look of fear and fascination in his emerald eyes. Maybe it was the pride she felt for him, having watched him grow from a pampered kittypet into a cat she could trust as her second in command. Whatever the reason, Bluestar had to admit that she cared for Fireheart in a way that went beyond the regular bonds between a Clan leader and her cats, or even a mentor and her former apprentice.

Perhaps she should have felt guilty; after all, Clan leaders weren't meant to have favorites. But then again, she reasoned, all Clan leaders had to have at least _one _cat they secretly preferred above all else. Besides, except for Tigerstar and Brokenstar, almost any of the past and current leaders would feel the same way if Fireheart had joined under their reign.

He wasn't the strongest warrior in the forest or even in ThunderClan, but he was utterly committed to serving his Clan, more so than even most forest-born cats were at times. But, perhaps even more importantly than that, he truly cared about the well-being of all the Clans in the forest. It was to a fault at times to be sure, but all four Clans had Fireheart to thank for helping them at one point or another. Without him, WindClan would never have returned from exile, ShadowClan would still be under Brokenstar's tyrannical rule, and RiverClan would have starved due to the lack of edible food from their poisoned river.

And now, because of one bad decision, they might lose him.

Bluestar dragged herself into her den and curled up in her nest, turning her back to the entrance in the hopes that anyone who happened to pass by would think she was asleep and leave her alone. As she closed her eyes, a single tear rolled down her face.

_I'm sorry, Fireheart. I'm sorry. _


	5. Sleepless Night

The moon was near its highest point in the sky when Sandstorm finally returned to camp. When she arrived at the gorse tunnel, she was dismayed to find Whitestorm guarding the entrance. Memories of their disagreement from that afternoon flooded back into her mind. She knew he would have a few words to say to her about the incident, but she couldn't bring herself to regret what she'd said.

_I suppose I might as well face it, _Sandstorm thought, sighing to herself. She walked up to Whitestorm, dipping her head to her former mentor. "Good evening, Whitestorm."

"Good evening, Sandstorm." Whitestorm's mew was curt, but there was no trace of hostility, and she immediately felt her muscles relax. "You've been out of camp for a while. Are you feeling alright now?"

Sandstorm shifted about uncomfortably. "I think so," the ginger-furred warrior meowed. "Sorry about earlier, though. I just..."

"I understand," Whitestorm meowed sympathetically. "But Bluestar's been struggling enough as it is, and she needs our support. Besides, Fireheart was her apprentice. Don't you think she already feels terrible about what happened to him?"

Sandstorm bowed her head, recognizing the truth in the older cat's words. She was well aware of the bond that formed between mentor and apprentice, but the friendship between Fireheart and Bluestar went beyond those constraints. It must, after all, if she had chosen him to be her second in command when everyone else had assumed the position would go to Whitestorm or even Runningwind or Mousefur. Perhaps Bluestar's judgment had been clouded when she gave the order to attack WindClan, but Sandstorm knew she would never have hoped for Fireheart to be as severely wounded as he was now.

"I–I hadn't thought about that," she admitted. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," her ex-mentor mewed kindly. Yawning, Whitestorm added, "Now, I think it's time for us to get some sleep. We'll need to be ready if Bluestar wants us on a morning patrol tomorrow, after all."

Sandstorm nodded and followed the large white cat into the warriors' den, curling up inside her nest near the outer edge of the shelter. Try as she might, however, she couldn't seem to make herself fall asleep. Vivid images of Fireheart taking his last breaths permeated her mind, causing her heart to clench in fear. Even though she knew Cinderpelt was watching over him, that didn't stop her mind from going immediately to the worst-case scenario.

_Fireheart might still die tonight, _Sandstorm thought desperately. _And if that happens and I'm here, then I won't be with him when it happens. I can't let that happen! If he is going to die, then I want to be there for him. _

With that final thought in mind, the ginger she-cat stood up from her nest and started in the direction of the medicine den. As she approached the fern tunnel, however, she froze as she noticed that there was another cat inside the cave. It took a few heartbeats for Sandstorm to realize who the cat was, but eventually, she recognized the thin frame of her Clan leader. She was staring down at Fireheart's unconscious form, and the expression in her eyes was one of deep sorrow and regret.

"Oh, Fireheart," she heard Bluestar murmur. "What have I let happen to you?"

Just like that, hearing the anguish in Bluestar's voice as she blamed herself for her deputy's injuries, Sandstorm felt the last of her resentment melting away. Even though her leader had been neglecting all her warriors for moons now, she didn't have the heart to hold a grudge against her anymore. How could she, when Bluestar was looking at Fireheart with the expression of a mother watching her kit dying?

_He means more to her than I realized, _Sandstorm mused to herself. _I knew she cared for him, but I never expected..._

Her thoughts were interrupted as Bluestar turned around and padded towards the medicine den entrance. The blue-furred cat jumped back when she saw Sandstorm, the sight of her catching her by surprise.

"What are you doing?" Bluestar hissed.

"I–I just came to see Fireheart," Sandstorm stammered. Although she had lost some of her strength, the ThunderClan leader still had a commandeering presence.

At that, Bluestar's eyes clouded with sadness. "I figured as much," she murmured. Sandstorm waited for a moment, wondering if she was going to say anything more, but the ThunderClan leader just bowed her head and continued towards her den underneath the Highrock. She hadn't made any mention of Sandstorm's verbal confrontation earlier, the pale ginger she-cat realized with a prickle of shame.

Silently, Sandstorm padded into Cinderpelt's den where Fireheart lay, unaware that anyone had come to see him. A pang of grief swept through her as she noticed the dried blood on his fur. He looked nothing like the strong warrior she had come to admire so much. Instead, he looked frail and weak, as though any moment he would be on his way to StarClan. Even his breathing seemed shallower than usual, although Sandstorm wasn't quite sure if that was just her mind playing tricks on her or not.

_Please, StarClan, if you care at all about us, don't let Fireheart die, _she pleaded silently. _I know I don't deserve to ask, not after the way I treated him when he joined the Clan, but I–I mean, we–need him. _

It was strange, Sandstorm reflected, how much the flame-pelted tom had come to mean to her. She could still remember the scorn she had felt when Fireheart first arrived in ThunderClan as a kittypet, then the resentment and jealousy as he was made a warrior before she was despite having started his training later. Had someone told her that she would ever care as much as she did, she would have either laughed or clawed their ears off.

The only downside was that her newfound friendship with Fireheart had caused a rift between her and Dustpelt. Sandstorm knew he was hurt when it became clear that she preferred the former kittypet's companionship over his, and she had felt guilty about it at first. However, he seemed preoccupied with Fernpaw these days, so she supposed it had all worked out in the end anyway.

"Wake up, Fireheart, please," Sandstorm whispered.

But the flame-pelted warrior remained unmoving, utterly unresponsive to her pleas. With a sigh, Sandstorm turned away and headed back to the warriors' den, resigning herself to chasing the sleep that was sure to evade her for the rest of the night.


	6. A Vow

Two days had gone by since the attack on WindClan, and still, Fireheart hadn't woken up. Cinderpelt was doing her best to remain optimistic, but she was beginning to lose faith that her patient would ever recover. He was still clinging onto life in the meantime, however, so she and the rest of the Clan did their best not to think of the possibility of losing their trusted deputy.

Of course, Darkstripe had no concern over the matter at all, but no one particularly cared about his opinion. The tabby warrior was spending more and more time outside of camp, even neglecting his apprentice, Fernpaw. Dustpelt had taken over her training, much like Fireheart had done with Brackenfur when Graystripe was ignoring his duties as a mentor, although most of the Clan knew that his primary interest was spending time with the pretty apprentice rather than concern over her training.

Bluestar, on the other hand, was having an especially difficult time. She was still riddled with guilt over her apprentice's injuries and spent the entirety of her time altering between sitting at his side and hiding away in her den. Whitestorm had tried to coax her into eating a few pieces of fresh-kill on occasion, but she usually picked moodily at it for a few moments before pushing it away and claiming she wasn't hungry. Indeed, Bluestar wasn't sure if she would ever be hungry again, what with the state Fireheart was in now.

On the evening of the third day after the battle, Bluestar was on her way to see Fireheart again when Whitestorm stopped her. Her nephew had a stern look in his eyes, and the blue-gray she-cat let out an inward sigh. She knew that look all too well; it was the same look he wore whenever he was going to talk her into something she didn't want to do.

"Yes, Whitestorm? What do you need?" Bluestar meowed tiredly.

"You know perfectly well what, Bluestar. You have to eat something," Whitestorm mewed calmly. "And I mean eat, not just picking at your food and throwing it away."

"I'm not hungry," the ThunderClan leader replied defiantly.

"You haven't eaten for three days. How can you not be hungry?" Whitestorm pointed out. More softly, he added, "I know you're worried about Fireheart. I am too, trust me. But he needs you to stay strong for the Clan. Do you think he would want you to neglect the rest of ThunderClan just for his sake?"

Bluestar bowed her head. "It's my fault he's stuck like this," she whispered, feeling herself beginning to choke up. "I ordered the attack, and now StarClan is punishing me! They're going to take away one of the only warriors left that I can trust. But if that's going to happen, then the least I can do is be there when he–he–"

"Bluestar!" Whitestorm's sharp meow snapped her back to attention. "Calm down for a moment and think about what you're saying. What happened to Fireheart is _not _the result of StarClan punishing you. Mudclaw hates ThunderClan; you know that as well as anyone. Fireheart's injuries were nothing more than that piece of WindClan fox dung taking a battle too far. It just so happens that Fireheart was the one to get hurt instead of another ThunderClan warrior. Besides, do you think Cinderpelt is going to let him die? He's her friend, you know, and she cares for him. She's not going to let him die on her watch; you can count on that."

He spoke with such conviction that for a moment, Bluestar almost believed what he was saying. Then she shook her head, telling herself not to let his words sway her. She knew deep down that StarClan was punishing her for attacking an innocent Clan, and frankly, she couldn't say she didn't deserve it. The attack _had _been unjust; she had ordered her warriors to harm honest cats over a crime they didn't commit.

StarClan were quite crafty, Bluestar had to admit. They must have realized that directly punishing her wouldn't have been useful, as she no longer cared for her well-being. Instead, they had chosen to unleash their fury on her deputy, knowing that it was the only way to hurt her now. Fireheart was going to die, and all because she had been foolish enough to let her anger and hatred cloud her judgment. He, the only honorable cat in ThunderClan and possibly the noblest cat in the entire forest, was going to suffer the consequences of her actions.

"No," Bluestar meowed out loud. "That's not going to happen."

Whitestorm blinked at her in confusion. "What's not going to happen?"

Instead of answering, however, Bluestar turned on her heel and made her way back towards her den beneath the Highrock. Maybe StarClan had decided to punish Fireheart for her mistake, but that didn't mean she couldn't at least attempt to change their minds. Going to Highstones wasn't an option, seeing as Tallstar had probably ordered his warriors to keep an eye out for any ThunderClan warriors. That meant she would have to try to contact her warrior ancestors another way.

_Although I doubt they're going to care, _she thought to herself. _Not since they've abandoned my Clan and me. But if the only chance I have at making things right is to kneel to those traitors, then that's what I'll do. I owe it to Fireheart if nothing else. _

She didn't expect StarClan to explain themselves to her, of course. There could be no explanation, no justification for what they had done. Her only purpose was to convince them not to take Fireheart into their ranks, to change their minds about punishing him. Maybe they would be willing to show mercy, if not for her, then at least for the cat who had served his Clan so faithfully despite not being born into it.

_This is my only chance, _Bluestar repeated. _I have to do this. I can't let Fireheart die for my mistake. _

With that final vow in mind, the blue-gray queen curled up in her nest and closed her eyes, waiting for her ancestors to visit her dreams.


	7. Plead With the Stars

**Sorry for the delay with the chapter, everyone. I've just been ridiculously busy with college lately, and as such haven't had much time for fanfiction. 9**

**Shoutout to WolflexZ for reviewing almost every chapter I've written of this story so far. Your support is amazing. (I realize this sounds incredibly sarcastic, but really, it does mean a lot to me.) **

**draconic skysong: I'm glad you're enjoying it! **

**Arcantos the Storyteller: This has been sitting in the back of my mind for a while, so I'm glad you like the idea! I see what you mean about the pacing, and I have a tentative plan for how to deal with that. As for the rest of your points, first of all, the main reason I didn't have Cloudpaw confront Bluestar was that although he's not one to hide his feelings, as you said, I don't recall him ever outright attacking her in the canon series. I remember him protesting that Lostface's name was cruel, but I don't remember him ever saying anything that could be considered disrespectful to her face. **

**The reason there haven't been many scenes of the rest of the Clan's reaction to Fireheart's injury is that most of the chapters have been from Bluestar's point of view, and she isn't having much to do with her Clan right now. I do plan to add a chapter or two focused on the rest of ThunderClan later, and hopefully, then I'll be able to clear up Cloudpaw's issue as well. **

**Sandstorm was a bit of an odd point for me when I was writing those two chapters. In the canon series, Sandstorm still respected Bluestar as Clan leader, as evidenced by the fact that she was upset by Fireheart's decision to go behind her back and warn Tallstar of Bluestar's planned attack. Her reaction in that chapter was meant to be purely out of stress–she'd just come back from a battle she knew was unjust, and the cat Sandstorm loved was critically injured, so she let her anger get the best of her. I agree that it probably seemed like she got over it a little too quickly, and I have a plan for how to fix that, so bear with me. Everything that I've written so far has been written this way for a reason. **

**Anyway, with all that out of the way, let's get into the chapter.**

* * *

When Bluestar opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded by several achingly familiar cats. Her mother, Moonflower, was standing over her, as well as her sister, Snowfur. Mosskit was seated beside Snowfur, with Oakheart placed protectively beside their daughter. Spottedleaf, Yellowfang, Redtail, Lionheart, and even Stormtail were there as well. Bluestar couldn't help feeling surprised at the sight of her father; he had never shown much interest in her while he was alive.

As Bluestar rose to her feet, Moonflower stepped forward and rested her muzzle against her daughter's head. Bluestar closed her eyes, allowing her mother's touch to comfort her for a fraction of a heartbeat before stepping back and looking at her family in the eye. She was pleased to see them, of course, but she had a purpose here and didn't have time for reunions. There would be enough time for that when her turn came to join StarClan, after all.

"Please, I–" the blue-gray warrior began, but Snowfur laid her tail-tip over her mouth, effectively cutting off the rest of her plea.

"We know why you have come, dear sister," Snowfur meowed solemnly. "And we're sorry to tell you, but we cannot give you what you seek."

Bluestar froze, her heart suddenly cold. "And why is that?"

"You know why, Bluestar. StarClan does not control the fate of every cat in the forest," Redtail, her former deputy, meowed gently. Any other time, Bluestar would have apologized to him for letting his death go unavenged for so long. Now, however, she was too angry to care.

"Don't give me that heap of fox dung!" she snarled, her fur bristling with rage. "You can grant a cat such as Tigerstar nine lives to become Clan leader, but you can't do anything to save my deputy? Where is your loyalty? I have dedicated my life to following your way, and _this _is what I get in return? I get to watch the cat who tried to murder me receive the honor of becoming ShadowClan's leader? I get to watch Fireheart, one of the only cats left in ThunderClan that I can trust, die because I made a mistake and you won't do _anything _to help?"

"Bluestar–" Lionheart began, but the ThunderClan leader just cut him off.

"You told me that fire would save my Clan, but it almost destroyed us!" she spat. "You allowed WindClan to deny me safe passage to Highstones to speak with you, even after all Fireheart did for them! I gave up _everything _to become Clan leader because _you _said it was my destiny, and still, you insist on taking more away from me! Why? What have I done to warrant such cruelty from you?"

Her voice had risen to a wail by the end of her tirade. Bluestar dug her claws into the ground as tears began rolling down her face, angry–_livid_–that her warrior ancestors were turning their backs on her when she needed them the most. She had long believed that StarClan had turned away from her and ThunderClan, and now, here was the final proof. Perhaps _she _didn't deserve their mercy, but the fact that they wouldn't lift a paw to save Fireheart, who had served them more faithfully than almost any forest-born cat, spoke volumes.

"Bluestar, please..." Snowfur pleaded.

"Don't you _dare _say anything, because, for all I know, they're just empty words. In fact, I know they are," Bluestar snarled, turning away from her sister. "But fine! If you don't want to do anything to save Fireheart, then _I _will. Well, Cinderpelt and I will. We'll save him together, so he doesn't have to be cursed into living among ancestors that don't care for him!"

Ignoring a protest from Oakheart, Bluestar turned tail and fled. She didn't stop running, even as her lungs began to burn. No amount of physical exhaustion could ever compare to the pain her warrior ancestors had inflicted upon her today. Her assumptions had been right all along; StarClan no longer cared anything for her, and now they were going to sit back and let fate take Fireheart from her.

_But I won't let that happen! _Bluestar thought defiantly. _I might not be a medicine cat, but StarClan is mistaken if they think I'm going to sit back and let one of my only trustworthy warriors die. They've taken everything from me, but they won't succeed this time! _

_"Bluestar!" _

Bluestar growled, lashing her tail as a voice called out to her. Did StarClan not get the message when she ran away from them? Why were they still insisting on plaguing her dreams?

_"Bluestar, wake up!" _

Suddenly, the blue-furred queen jolted awake in her nest, inside her den underneath the Highrock. Blinking her eyes to clear the sleep from them, she looked up to see Whitestorm standing over her with a concerned expression in his eyes.

"You were thrashing about in your sleep," the great white warrior meowed worriedly. "What on earth happened?"

Instead of answering directly, Bluestar struggled to her paws. "I'm going to go see Fireheart," she muttered.

Whitestorm blinked, then followed his Clan leader as she made her way towards the medicine den. "What happened?" he repeated, pausing to see if Bluestar would respond. If she had even heard him, however, she gave no indication. "Did you have a dream?"

Bluestar almost rolled her eyes at that–obviously, she'd had a dream. Didn't Whitestorm say she had been thrashing about in her sleep? Why would she be moving at all if she wasn't dreaming? The more logical part of Bluestar's mind reasoned that her nephew was probably wondering if she had spoken with StarClan, but she chose not to tell him that. He would never believe that their ancestors had turned their backs on them, and besides, it wouldn't do any good to bring it up now.

When they arrived at Cinderpelt's den, the dark gray medicine cat was hovering over her patient, checking his wounds with a troubled look in her eyes. Bluestar tensed with anxiety, wondering if something had happened to Fireheart while she was asleep. But no, a closer look told her that the ThunderClan deputy was still in the same state she'd last seen him, no better but certainly no worse.

"Oh, hello Bluestar," Cinderpelt greeted her Clan leader. There was a slight edge to her voice, though whether it was due to stress or anger towards her, Bluestar couldn't be sure.

"Cinderpelt," Bluestar meowed politely. She looked down at Fireheart's body and asked softly, "How is he?"

The ThunderClan medicine cat let out a sigh. "I don't know," she admitted. "He's not getting worse, but he hasn't gotten better at all, and I don't know what to do. I don't want to lose another cat the same way I lost Silverstream."

Bluestar blinked. That was right, Cinderpelt had been the one to help deliver Graystripe's kits all those moons ago. The kittens had survived, but their mother, a RiverClan warrior, named Silverstream, had died from blood loss. Although Fireheart hadn't delivered any children and certainly wouldn't be doing so anytime soon, the fact that his life was hanging in the balance due to blood loss couldn't be sparking any happy memories for Cinderpelt.

"He was pretty badly hurt," Whitestorm reasoned. "And it's only been a few days. Maybe he needs a little more time."

"You're probably right," Cinderpelt sighed. "I'll just keep doing what I can to make sure he stays alive if nothing else."

Sorrow flooded Bluestar's heart as she bowed her head, licking Fireheart between the ears as Moonflower had done to her so many times as a kit. She could feel Whitestorm and Cinderpelt watching her, but didn't look up, instead choosing to continue her steady, rhythmic licks to the young flame-pelted cat's fur.

* * *

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Bluestar or anyone else in ThunderClan, Darkstripe was waiting alongside the ShadowClan border. It was nearly dawn, and the pale tabby was waiting for Tigerstar to meet him. The two had arranged to meet with each other the day before, but now his friend was late, and Darkstripe was growing restless. If a ThunderClan patrol happened to come by and catch him, he doubted that he would be allowed to explain himself. They already didn't trust him due to his old comradery with the ShadowClan leader.

Fortunately, Darkstripe didn't have anything to worry about, for less than a heartbeat later Tigerstar finally made his appearance. He was carrying something wrapped up in leaves, and as he drew closer, he placed the bundle down in front of Darkstripe.

"I brought them, as I promised," the great dark tabby meowed. "Be sure to put them to good use."

"I will, Tigerstar. Thank you," Darkstripe mewed, bowing to his former Clanmate.

Tigerstar nodded. "Now go, before anyone catches you here."

Darkstripe didn't need any more encouragement. Picking up the bundle of leaves, the tabby warrior turned around and padded deeper into ThunderClan territory. Once he was sure that he was safe from prying eyes, Darkstripe placed the package on the ground and unfurled the leaves, feeling his lip curl into a triumphant sneer when he saw what was inside. There, placed inside the leaf bundle with absolute precision, were three bright red berries.


	8. Cloudpaw's Outburst

Cloudpaw trailed slowly after Whitestorm as the ThunderClan senior warrior led him and Brightpaw towards Fourtrees for a hunting patrol. Ever since Fireheart's injury in the battle with WindClan, he had been joining in on the other apprentices' training sessions, since all of his friends had insisted that he couldn't allow himself to fall behind while his mentor was recovering. He knew they had a point, but he was finding it difficult to care about becoming a warrior when Fireheart was so close to death. Besides, Bluestar obviously wasn't keen on making them warriors anyway, so what did it matter?

_Bluestar_. Cloudpaw's fluffy white fur bristled with resentment at the thought of his leader. It was her fault that Fireheart was as badly hurt as he was. If she hadn't decided to attack WindClan, his uncle would still be safe.

"Are you okay, Cloudpaw?" Brightpaw asked gently, seeing the anger in her denmate's blue eyes.

"Not really," Cloudpaw admitted, feeling himself relax at Brightpaw's warm, sweet voice nonetheless.

"I'm sorry, I know this must be hard for you," the ginger and white apprentice mewed soothingly. "I don't know what I'd do if anything like that happened to Whitestorm."

"It isn't just that!" Cloudpaw burst out angrily. "This is all Bluestar's fault! If she didn't order us to attack WindClan, none of this would have happened! And why do we have to listen to what _she _says anyway? Yeah, I know the warrior code says a Clan leader's word is law, but why should we give a rat's tail what the code says when our leader obviously doesn't care anything for us?"

"Cloudpaw!" It was not Brightpaw who replied, but Whitestorm, his eyes fierce. "Show some respect. I understand how you feel, but–"

"No, you don't!" the white apprentice interrupted, forgetting for a moment that he was speaking to a senior warrior. "You don't know anything about how I feel, so stop acting as if you do! Why are you defending Bluestar anyway? You know as well as anyone else that her actions caused Fireheart's injury, yet you're still standing up for her! And as for showing respect, why should I? Because of Bluestar, I'll probably never receive my warrior name, and neither will Brightpaw, Swiftpaw, or Thornpaw! Because of her, my mentor and only kin in this entire stupid forest might die! _Respect? _Ha, as if! I have more respect for a flaming pile of fox dung than her!"

Without waiting for a response, Cloudpaw whipped around and stormed back towards the camp. He knew he would pay dearly for his outburst later, but he didn't care about that. Whitestorm might have been Bluestar's friend, for who knows what reason, but there was no reason to excuse her actions. He was acting as if Bluestar hadn't done anything wrong at all!

The sound of approaching pawsteps caught his attention, and Cloudpaw turned his head to see Brightpaw racing towards him. There was a look of anger in her eyes, and he found himself torn between regret and indifference as their gazes met.

"What is it, Brightpaw?" he asked, although he could already guess what.

Sure enough, his denmate's fur fluffed up angrily, and she spat, "Apologize to my mentor, Cloudpaw!"

"No," Cloudpaw snapped back. He didn't like upsetting Brightpaw any more than he already had, but he wasn't about to apologize for speaking the truth. "I don't owe him anything. Bluestar caused Fireheart to get hurt, and all Whitestorm does is defend her! Why should I apologize to your precious mentor when he doesn't even care that _my _mentor might die?"

"He _does _care!" Brightpaw snapped. "But he cares about Bluestar too, don't you see? They've known each other forever; of course, he's going to defend her!"

"Really? Well, if he does care about Fireheart, he's sure doing a poor job of showing it," Cloudpaw snarled.

Brightpaw shook her head, all traces of anger suddenly gone. "I'm not having this argument with you, Cloudpaw. Just...just go back to camp and calm down, will you? I know you're upset, but you can't keep lashing out at everyone. Fireheart might be your kin, but the entire Clan is your family now, which you'd see if you'd only look past your whiskers for a change!"

She spun around and stalked back towards Fourtrees, her tail held high. Cloudpaw watched her go for a few heartbeats, feeling torn between guilt and resentment at her words. He knew that he'd hurt her and the former kittypet was sorry for that, but Cloudpaw also knew that she could never understand how he felt. She didn't have the misfortune of being born outside the Clan as he did or having everyone judge his every mistake because of his birthplace. Besides, no matter how close Cloudpaw was to his foster parents and siblings, nothing could ever replace his blood kin, and Fireheart was all he had of that in the Clan.

He was the only one who understood how Cloudpaw felt at times, the only one who could relate to his feelings of being an outsider in his own home. Brightpaw might believe that the Clan was his family now, but Cloudpaw knew that if he or Fireheart were to disappear from the Clan suddenly, most of them wouldn't be sad to see them go. Some might care but would forget all about them within a matter of days. What kind of family was that?

Sighing, Cloudpaw turned around and continued his walk back to the ThunderClan camp. Maybe he would apologize to Brightpaw and Whitestorm later, but at the moment, their feelings were the least of his concern. His leader was stubbornly refusing to give him his warrior name, and Fireheart was lying in the medicine den, a mere whisker away from death. As far as Cloudpaw was concerned, Brightpaw and Whitestorm could think whatever they wanted about him.


	9. Caught in the Act

_**Edit: It was pointed out that Darkstripe was actually a dark tabby, so this chapter has been edited.**_

* * *

When Cloudpaw arrived back at the camp, just as he'd expected, Bluestar was nowhere to be seen. He curled his lip in disdain, imagining his so-called leader curled up in her nest, probably sleeping the day away. If she wasn't there, then she was most likely hovering over Fireheart, moaning about how terrible she felt about her deputy's suffering. While Cloudpaw could certainly appreciate the fact that Bluestar at least cared for his uncle, he would have liked it more if she would do something to rectify her mistakes.

_Oh well, no sense dwelling on it now, _the fluffy white apprentice thought.

He began to walk over towards the fresh-kill pile, then, deciding he wasn't hungry, turned abruptly and headed towards Cinderpelt's den instead. It was the fourth time Cloudpaw had been to visit Fireheart since the battle with WindClan, and he often ran into Sandstorm, Whitestorm, and even Bluestar on occasion. Cinderpelt was usually present as well–which was to be expected, considering it was her den–and sometimes told Cloudpaw stories about her short time as Fireheart's apprentice.

But when Cloudpaw reached the entrance to the medicine den, he froze as a new scent wafted towards him from beyond the fern tunnel. For whatever reason, Darkstripe was inside with Fireheart–whether or not Cinderpelt was there as well, Cloudpaw couldn't say for sure–and the white cat felt his fur bristle in apprehension. He didn't know much about the tabby warrior except for the fact that he hated kittypets and had once been friends with Tigerstar, but Cloudpaw didn't like the thought of him being with Fireheart when the deputy was in such a vulnerable state. There was no telling if Darkstripe would be bold enough to try harming Fireheart directly, but one thing for sure was that he wasn't there to pay him a friendly visit.

His fur tingling with the sense of danger, Cloudpaw crept forward until he could get a better view of the inside of the den while making sure to keep himself out of anyone's line of sight. He felt the familiar pang of sorrow as his gaze passed over Fireheart's body, then tensed as he saw Darkstripe unroll a leaf bundle onto the den floor. Slowly, the dark tabby forced Fireheart's jaw open with one paw; with the other, he picked up a bright, red berry between his claws and began to lower it into the ginger tom's mouth.

"No!" Cloudpaw screeched, bursting forward through the fern tunnel. His sudden appearance caught Darkstripe off guard, and Cloudpaw easily knocked him off balance. The two warriors writhed and twisted about on the floor of Cinderpelt's den, their claws scoring over and over across each others' flanks.

"Kittypet!" Darkstripe taunted, his face leering unpleasantly up at the younger warrior. "Come to save your precious mentor, have you?"

"Yes, I have," Cloudpaw snarled, biting down hard on the treacherous warrior's shoulder. Darkstripe yowled in pain and tried to knock Cloudpaw away, but the kittypet-born apprentice held on tight, strengthened by his fury over the fact that Tigerstar's most loyal follower had tried to murder his kin.

"Cloudpaw! Darkstripe!" Bluestar's voice sounded from the entrance, ringing with shock and fury. "What is the meaning of this?"

For the first time in what felt like forever, Cloudpaw found himself glad to hear his leader's voice. Almost instantly, he released his hold on Darkstripe and turned to face the blue-furred she-cat. Darkstripe scrambled back to his feet, blood trickling down his fur from where Cloudpaw had bitten and scratched him. The two warriors glared at each other, their hostility far from spent.

"What happened here?" Bluestar repeated.

"See for yourself," Cloudpaw replied shortly. He still wasn't in the mood to be friendly with his Clan leader.

Angry as he was with Bluestar, however, Cloudpaw had to admire her deductive reasoning capabilities in this situation. Her cloudy blue eyes scanned the floor of the medicine den, taking in the crushed leaf bundle, the deathberries, and the telltale red stains on Darkstripe's paws that were much too bright to be passed off as blood.

Cloudpaw had seen Bluestar angry before, on several different occasions. He thought he'd seen the worst of her fury when he and his foster siblings went hunting in the middle of leaf-bare as kits, putting themselves in mortal danger in the process. Then, he became convinced that her worst episode was when she cursed StarClan for the destruction of their camp in the fire. And not long after that, he believed that he'd seen Bluestar at her worst when she found out that Tigerstar, the former ThunderClan deputy, exiled for trying to murder her, had been granted nine lives by StarClan and became the leader of ShadowClan.

However, none of that compared to the look of utter fury and hatred that crossed her face now. The clouded expression that had been present in her eyes for so many moons disappeared abruptly, to be replaced by the familiar icy blue gaze that Cloudpaw had once known her to possess. He knew that look all too well; it was the look of the formidable leader who had once been ready to sacrifice everything to protect her Clan, and it could not have been a better time to make a reappearance.

"You," she hissed, her hackles raised as she advanced on Darkstripe. "You tried to murder my apprentice? Tried to kill Fireheart while he was helpless and unable to defend himself? I don't believe you, Darkstripe. Even Tigerstar wasn't cowardly enough to do something like that."

"He deserved it," the dark warrior sneered. "He's nothing but a worthless, pathetic kittypet and he deserves to die. ThunderClan needs strong, pureblood warriors to lead it, not soft, weak–"

Bluestar let out a yowl of rage and launched herself at Darkstripe. As he watched the blue-gray queen, Cloudpaw made a mental note not to underestimate her strength just because she'd been spending the last few moons in her den. Although not quite at the same level he had once known her to be, she was still a formidable battler nonetheless, and she seemed to be fighting with a strength beyond what was mortal. Her eyes glowed with anger, but there was something more in them as well. A light had grown in her eyes, and while it wasn't quite the expression of paranoia she had worn lately, it still sent a chill down Cloudpaw's spine. Somehow, the white apprentice knew that Darkstripe wouldn't make it out of this battle alive.

"W-what are you doing?" Darkstripe yelped as Bluestar pinned him down on the floor of the den. For the first time in his life, Cloudpaw heard fear enter the senior warrior's voice.

"What I should have done to the last traitor in my Clan," the old she-cat hissed. Cloudpaw closed his eyes, not wanting to watch as she delivered a killing bite to Darkstripe's neck. When he opened them again, he saw his Clanmate lying at Bluestar's paws, his flank utterly still and a look of abject terror in his eyes.

Cloudpaw's immediate reaction was one of relief. If Bluestar's first decision was to kill Darkstripe, that meant that Fireheart was safe. Then, he realized that his Clan leader was looking at him as though she were expecting him to say something. What that was, however, Cloudpaw had no idea, so an awkward silence lingered for a few heartbeats before Bluestar finally broke it.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I–yeah, I'm fine," Cloudpaw mewed, glancing down at himself. It was true; apart from a few scratches, he was relatively unharmed. "What about you?"

"I'm well, thank you," Bluestar replied. There was a small trickle of blood coming down her left shoulder, but it didn't appear to be anything serious, so Cloudpaw decided she was telling the truth.

"How did you know what was happening?" the white-furred cat asked. "Did you know that Darkstripe was here?"

"Not at first," Bluestar answered. "I came here to see Fireheart, and I heard fighting from outside."

Cloudpaw nodded. It made sense, after all. "Are you going to tell the rest of the Clan what happened?"

Bluestar pondered the question for a moment, then nodded. "It would be for the best," she decided. She turned and started to walk out of the medicine den, then paused briefly and turned her head around again. "One more thing, Cloudpaw. I believe it's time for your warrior ceremony."

"R-really?" Cloudpaw stammered, staring at Bluestar in shock. Maybe she was going to start taking her duties seriously again. "You mean it?"

"Of course. You did well saving Fireheart's life, especially when there was no one else around," Bluestar meowed.

"In that case, yes. I'd like that more than anything!" Cloudpaw mewed enthusiastically. More hesitantly, he added, "Just–just one more thing. Can my denmates have their warrior names too? I mean, all of them have been apprenticed longer than I have, and shouldn't they have received their names a while ago? Swiftpaw was apprenticed before Brackenfur, and _he's _been a full warrior for moons."

He fully expected Bluestar to refuse, but to his astonishment, the blue-gray she-cat meowed, "I suppose it _is _time for their ceremonies. Fireheart's been saying the same thing for the past moon."

Cloudpaw felt his tail curl in delight. "Great! Thank you, Bluestar!"

"You're quite welcome," Bluestar meowed kindly. "Now, run along and tell your friends the news. I'll wait here for Cinderpelt, and then I'll decide what your warrior names should be."

Cloudpaw didn't need any more encouragement. Tail held high, he raced out of Cinderpelt's den in search of his friends, eager to inform them of Bluestar's decision to give them their warrior names at long last. His only regret was that Fireheart wouldn't be at the ceremony with him, but he knew the flame-pelted warrior would be proud of him whenever he woke up. Best of all, Bluestar finally seemed as if she were going to start caring for her warriors again. It was somewhat ironic that _Darkstripe _had been the one to cause her turnaround, but Cloudpaw wasn't about to complain.

_Finally, things are starting to look up for once, _the white-furred apprentice thought. _And it only took Darkstripe trying to kill Fireheart to make it happen. _

* * *

**Well, it looks as if Bluestar's finally back to her old self! The next chapter will be the naming ceremony, and then Fireheart will wake up in the chapter after that. Either that or I might switch the two chapters around and have Fireheart wake up before the ceremony. Regardless, however, don't worry; the story isn't going to end anytime soon. Fireheart might be awake soon, but his road to recovery is far from over. **

**On another note, I haven't decided what Swiftpaw's warrior name should be, so leave a review with a suggestion and I'll pick which one I like the best. **

**Thanks for reading, **

**TheShadowedWarrior **


	10. Bluestar's Reflection

As Bluestar waited in Cinderpelt's den for the medicine cat to return, she found her gaze wandering periodically to Darkstripe's unmoving, rapidly cooling body. The dark tabby's face still held the same expression of horror, and she was finding it rather amusing, which she supposed was odd considering the circumstances. After all, murdering a Clanmate could hardly be considered funny, even if it _was _justified.

It occurred to Bluestar, not for the first time, that she might have lost her mind a little.

When she had entered the medicine den, the last thing she had expected was to find two of her warriors–well, one warrior and one apprentice–fighting to the death inside, surrounded by a small pile of deathberries. She had been so shocked that it had taken her a few heartbeats to comprehend what was going on. As soon as she figured it out though, she had felt her veins fill with such potent rage that she almost had to marvel at how her glare hadn't incinerated Darkstripe on the spot. Part of Bluestar wondered if she should have seen it coming; after all, Darkstripe despised Fireheart, yet lacked the same strength and courage that Tigerstar had displayed so many times before. If it came down to it, Bluestar did not doubt that Fireheart could have easily beaten Darkstripe in an honest fight. However, since the dark tabby warrior was a coward, he had chosen to strike when Fireheart was alone, vulnerable, and utterly unable to even think about defending himself. Even though Bluestar hadn't trusted Darkstripe since Tigerstar's treachery was revealed, she hadn't expected him to use such dishonorable tactics. Tigerstar, at the very least, had given her a fighting chance, however minuscule.

However, what had driven Bluestar into attacking the treacherous warrior wasn't just the fury she felt at seeing him attempting to murder a helpless cat. It was the fact that she'd seen Cloudpaw fighting Darkstripe before, protecting his mentor even though the tabby was a seasoned battler and most likely would have killed him if Bluestar hadn't arrived on time. She knew that Fireheart and Cloudpaw were kin, but they hadn't seemed to be especially close–if anything, at times it seemed as if the white cat was closer to his foster mother, Brindleface. They got along, of course, but their relationship hardly resembled anything other than a typical bond between a mentor and his apprentice. Moreover, Bluestar's trust in the flame-colored deputy hadn't transcended completely onto Cloudpaw–she had wanted to make him a warrior before, granted, but it was just because he was Fireheart's apprentice. She trusted him because she believed in his mentor, not because of anything the young apprentice had or hadn't done.

But when she saw Cloudpaw battling Darkstripe, fiercely defending his mentor, something had clicked inside Bluestar. If Cloudpaw was a traitor, would he have risked his life to protect Fireheart? A rogue, as she had referred to her Clan so many times over the past moon, wouldn't show any concern for anyone else, regardless of whether they were kin or not. Besides that, why was only Darkstripe attempting to kill Fireheart, even though Longtail had also been an ally of Tigerstar? The only reasonable explanation was that they hadn't been as close as before–because Darkstripe was still loyal to Tigerstar, while Longtail must have turned against his old companions in favor of his Clan. And why was the rest of the Clan so worried about Fireheart, if all they were was a bunch of ragtag loners and rogues?

Suddenly, at that moment, everything was clear–everything that Fireheart had desperately tried to drill into her head for the past moon, but that she had stubbornly refused to believe. Her Clan was not full of traitors. Maybe StarClan had forsaken them–Bluestar still wasn't pleased with their refusal to save Fireheart–but that didn't matter because her warriors were loyal. They were faithful to her, yet frightened because Fireheart, the cat who had been acting as the leader for several moons now, was suddenly unable to perform his duties, and she had done nothing to take up her responsibilities again.

She was a terrible excuse for a Clan leader. Even when her deputy was dying, and her Clan needed her, she had refused to take responsibility and instead chose to sit around feeling sorry for herself.

But she would be damned if she didn't start trying to make up for her behavior now.

Yes, it was her fault that Fireheart was so close to death, and yes, she had treated her warriors poorly over the past few moons–truthfully, ever since Tigerstar's exile. But who was she helping by hiding away in her den all the time? The Clan needed a leader, and StarClan had appointed her to fill that position. She had just needed a sign of some sort, one more reminder that her warriors were still loyal.

Now she had that. Cloudpaw's defense of Fireheart had proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was still courage and loyalty in ThunderClan.

A soft groan interrupted Bluestar's thoughts, and the ThunderClan leader tensed, wondering if she was hearing things. Not even two heartbeats later, however, the sound came again, this time louder than before. She eyed Darkstripe's body warily, wondering if a vengeful spirit was attempting to speak to her through the tabby's corpse.

"Ugh...my head...what in the name of StarClan–Bluestar, is that you?"

At her name, Bluestar's head snapped up, her entire body freezing in shock when she saw a very familiar pair of green eyes staring back at her. Fireheart looked dazed and confused, which she supposed was understandable considering he had just woken up after being asleep for nearly a quarter moon, but as soon as their eyes met, an expression of relief filled his emerald orbs. Not that Bluestar noticed since she was too busy fighting the urge to rush over to Fireheart and start fussing over him. She refrained, however, if only because she didn't want to risk aggravating his injuries.

Perhaps attempting to lighten the mood, Fireheart then chose to meow, "I hope you haven't been sitting like that this whole time. No offense Bluestar, you're my friend and all, but I don't particularly enjoy being _stared _at while I sleep."

But Bluestar barely heard anything her deputy was saying. Her mind was repeating, over and over, _He's alive. Fireheart's alive. StarClan didn't take him. _

Slowly, she padded over to Fireheart and sat down beside him. The deputy gave a purr as she approached, the relief and happiness she felt reflected in his eyes.

"I'm glad you're alright," they murmured at the same time, causing Bluestar's head to jerk up in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled. "You're the one who..."

"I was worried that Mudclaw was going to kill you," Fireheart explained, still looking immensely relieved to see that his Clan leader was alive and well. "Or anyone in WindClan. I mean, they're not exactly fond of you right now, no offense or anything, and Mudclaw hates ThunderClan because we sheltered Brokentail. And a battle would have been the perfect opportunity to...you know. But it looks like everything turned out fine."

Bluestar couldn't resist rolling her eyes and chuckling a little at that. Trust Fireheart to worry about her when _he _was the one who had nearly died and spent the last several days unconscious in the medicine den. Fireheart's eyebrows shot up in confusion at the sound of the old she-cat's laughter.

"You look a lot better now," he noted. Glancing around, he added, "And why is Darkstripe here too? Where's Cinderpelt? Why is there blood all over the den? How's the rest of the Clan doing? And are those deathberries?"

Bluestar silenced the young warrior by placing the tip of her tail over his mouth, then gently running it down his back to soothe him. Slowly, she felt Fireheart's muscles relax, although his eyes still gleamed with curiosity and some slight worry as well. There was a lot that needed to be said, but for now, she was content to revel in the knowledge that he was alive–maybe not healthy enough to be considered well, but wonderfully alive and not being forced to join StarClan's hunting grounds because of an error in judgment.

At the same time, however, she knew Fireheart wouldn't be completely satisfied unless she gave him the answers he wanted. Curling her tail over her paws, she began to recount what had happened during the past few days.

"Right," Bluestar meowed, searching for a good starting point. "Where to begin..."


	11. Shaded Hearts and Clawed Tails

Fireheart sat with his tail curled over his front paws and listened in silence as Bluestar recounted the details of the past few days. He was surprised to learn that he'd been unconscious for so long but was relieved when Bluestar informed him that Whitestorm had taken over his duties for him. It was reassuring to know that Clan life had continued mostly as usual while he was recovering, although Fireheart had to admit that he was a little disappointed about not seeing Sandstorm, Cloudpaw, or Cinderpelt when he woke up. Then again, he told himself, they were probably busy with patrols or other Clan tasks. There was plenty of time for them to visit him later, mainly since he _was _currently in Cinderpelt's den.

Throughout her story, Bluestar remained seated close to her deputy, her eyes warm with relief as she looked at him. She looked more like the wise, noble leader Fireheart had respected so much when he first joined ThunderClan, and he could only pray that she didn't relapse again. It seemed strange that his injury was what caused her sudden improvement, but Fireheart wasn't about to complain. As long as he had his mentor back, he didn't care what had happened to cause it.

"So, how's Cloudpaw been doing?" Fireheart asked. "Who's been taking over his training?"

"Mostly Whitestorm, but a few of the other warriors have as well. I think Sandstorm took him out a few times," the blue-gray queen replied. "He'll be glad to see you're awake, Fireheart–and just in time for the ceremony too."

"Ceremony?" Fireheart echoed, staring at his leader in confusion. "What ceremony? Is it time for Bramblekit and Tawnykit's apprentice ceremony already?"

Bluestar shook her head. "No, although now that I think about it, the time for that should be approaching soon," she mused thoughtfully. "But I was talking about Cloudpaw's warrior ceremony–as well as for the other three older apprentices."

"R-really?" the flame-pelted warrior meowed, stunned. He had tried to convince Bluestar to give the four oldest apprentices their warrior names, but she had vehemently refused, not wanting to give that honor to cats she believed were mentored by traitors. "Not that I'm not thrilled, but what made you change your mind? I thought you weren't going to make warriors of Swiftpaw, Brightpaw, and Thornpaw."

"It was at Cloudpaw's request," Bluestar meowed. At Fireheart's puzzled expression, she continued, "He saved your life when Darkstripe snuck in here and tried to force deathberries down your throat. If it hadn't been for him, you'd be dead right now. When I offered to hold Cloudpaw's warrior ceremony, he insisted that his denmates have theirs as well. He pointed out that Swiftpaw became an apprentice before Brackenfur but still isn't a warrior, which I suppose _is _a good point. Either way, the ceremony will commence shortly, so I need to come up with names for them."

Fireheart stared at his leader for a few moments before purring happily. He still wasn't sure how witnessing Cloudpaw save his life had brought about this change in Bluestar, but he was more than willing to accept it. Even better, he had woken up in time to witness a warrior ceremony for one of his apprentices for the first time. He could have had that joy with Cinderpelt, but Tigerclaw's trap had destroyed any dreams she'd had of becoming a warrior. And while it was true that he had taken over the majority of Brackenfur's training while Graystripe was off seeing Silverstream, the younger warrior wasn't _his _apprentice, so it wasn't quite the same.

"What names did you have in mind?" he asked the blue-gray molly, who frowned thoughtfully.

"I'm not quite sure," she admitted. "It's been a while since there's been a warrior ceremony. I guess my naming skills have gotten a little weak."

"Maybe I could help," Fireheart suggested. "I know it's not exactly _traditional _for the deputy to help name new warriors, but if the ceremony is supposed to happen before the end of the day, we're going to need to think quickly."

"It's fine, Fireheart," Bluestar meowed gently. "That would be greatly appreciated."

"Alright," Fireheart meowed, licking his paw and drawing it over his face. "Whose name do you want to decide first?"

They spent the next several moments debating over what to name the new warriors, quickly settling on Cloudtail for Cloudpaw and Thornclaw for Thornpaw. It took a little longer to decide on what to name Swiftpaw, but eventually, they agreed on the name Swiftshade. However, when it came to Brightpaw's warrior name, neither Fireheart nor Bluestar could come up with a suitable idea.

"Brightpelt? Brightfur?" Fireheart suggested, even though he knew how ridiculous they sounded.

"Fur and pelt are fairly common suffixes," Bluestar murmured, fortunately being kind enough not to point out the ridiculousness of his naming suggestions. "But a cat's fur isn't usually described as _bright_. A description such as that is usually reserved for eyes if we're talking about physical features."

"Yeah, but if we name her Bright-eyes, we're just asking for the other Clans to laugh at her at the next Gathering," her deputy pointed out.

"True," the blue-furred Clan leader agreed. "Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of suitable name options with a name like Brightpaw."

The two warriors were still discussing Brightpaw's warrior name when Cinderpelt returned to her den, a bundle of herbs clamped in her jaw. Upon seeing Fireheart, however, the gray-furred medicine cat promptly dropped the herbs on the floor and rushed over to greet him as fast as her injured leg would allow.

"Fireheart!" she exclaimed, giving his cheek a lick. "It's so good to see you awake! Are you feeling okay? Does anything hurt? I just finished gathering herbs, so I can give you a poultice if you need anything–"

However, Fireheart simply let out a purr of amusement. "Thank you, Cinderpelt, but I feel fine," he meowed honestly.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here," Cinderpelt mewed apologetically. "If I'd known, I'd have come back much sooner. Bluestar, it's good to see you too. But why are there deathberries all over the floor? And what happened to Darkstripe?"

So for the next several moments, Bluestar repeated the story she'd told to Fireheart about Cloudpaw saving his mentor's life when Darkstripe tried to poison him with yew berries. Cinderpelt's eyes grew blank with horror when she heard what the tabby warrior had attempted to do to Fireheart, but relaxed noticeably when the flame-pelted tom reassured her that he was perfectly fine and there was no need to worry about him. She was further cheered by the news that Cloudpaw, Brightpaw, Swiftpaw, and Thornpaw would finally get their warrior ceremonies, and even more amused when she heard about the trouble they were having on Brightpaw's warrior name.

"We just can't think of a name that fits her," Bluestar meowed in frustration. "She's a pretty cat, no doubt about it, but I wouldn't say there's anything _bright _about her appearance."

"Maybe you should try thinking about something other than what Brightpaw looks like," Cinderpelt suggested.

That was a fair point, Fireheart conceded, remembering that Bluestar had named him for his spirit rather than anything unique about his appearance. Then again, he wasn't about to rule out the possibility that his leader could see through him, and that perhaps his heart _was _made of fire.

On second thought, his time in his coma had probably affected his brain a little more than he'd initially believed.

"You know, that's not a bad idea," the older she-cat meowed thoughtfully. "What do you two think of the name Brightspirit? Or Brightshadow? No, wait...how about Brightheart?"

"Brightheart," Fireheart repeated, half to himself. It had a nice ring to it. "Brightheart. I like it."

"So do I," Cinderpelt agreed.

"Excellent," Bluestar mewed, nodding. "Then follow me. I'll go call the Clan together, and we'll have the ceremony."

Fireheart rose unsteadily to his paws, nearly collapsing again as he tried to take a tentative step forward. Fortunately, Bluestar was there to catch him and prevent him from falling. Blinking gratefully at her, he paused for a few heartbeats to regain his sense of balance before following his leader into the clearing in the middle of the camp. Upon his arrival, the entire Clan seemed to freeze in shock. Fireheart spotted Sandstorm sharing a thrush with Whitestorm, the pale ginger molly's eyes glowing with happiness when she saw him. Cloudpaw was sitting a few paces away with Brightpaw, Swiftpaw, and Thornpaw. All four of them looked excited, although Fireheart had a feeling it had less to do with his reappearance than the fact that they were about to become warriors. Not that he could blame them, of course, especially as his apprentice's eyes seemed to light up even more when they locked with Fireheart's emerald ones. Even Longtail and Dustpelt looked relieved to see him alive and well.

Bluestar leaped onto the Highrock and gave the familiar call: "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting."

The Clan exchanged confused glances as they made their way over beneath the Highrock, and Fireheart guessed that not many of them knew what was coming. He went to take his spot at the base of the Highrock, feeling a glow of pride as he thought of the honor the four oldest apprentices were about to experience. Even though Cloudpaw was his only apprentice, Fireheart had felt for each of them when Bluestar refused to give them their warrior names only a couple of moons ago.

"First things first, I need to address something that happened earlier today," Bluestar meowed. "Earlier today, I discovered Darkstripe attempting to poison Fireheart with deathberries. Had it not been for Cloudpaw's timely arrival, he most likely would have killed him."

Yowls of shock and horror rose amongst the Clan. Sandstorm snapped her head around to stare at Fireheart, dismay evident in her pale green eyes. Fireheart tried to give her a reassuring look but couldn't help fidgeting uncomfortably. The Clan knew that he hadn't died, didn't they?

Bluestar's voice rose above the cacophony. "I have dealt with the rogue myself, and Whitestorm, Goldenflower, after the meeting is over, I want you to dispose of Darkstripe's body. You'll find it in Cinderpelt's den, where I left it. There is no need to give him a burial ceremony of any sort."

"Certainly," Whitestorm meowed solemnly.

"Now, I can turn to a happier duty," the ThunderClan leader meowed. "Cloudpaw, Brightpaw, Swiftpaw, and Thornpaw, please step forward."

Led by Cloudpaw, the four apprentices rose from where they were seated and padded towards their Clan leader until they were standing at the foot of the Highrock. Bluestar leaped down from her position so that she was in front of them, pride evident in her eyes. For a moment, Fireheart thought he could detect a trace of regret as well, but it was gone before he could be sure of what he saw.

"Cloudpaw saved Fireheart's life today, and his warrior ceremony, as well as the ceremonies of his denmates, are long overdue," Bluestar continued. "Therefore, Swiftpaw, Brightpaw, Cloudpaw, and Thornpaw, I ask that you step forward."

The four apprentices moved forward to meet the blue-gray queen, looking as eager as kits exploring the camp for the first time. All four of them were trembling, and Fireheart thought they might faint from all the excitement.

"I, Bluestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn," she meowed, her voice soft but powerful–exactly as Fireheart had once known it to sound. "Cloudpaw, Brightpaw, Swiftpaw, and Thornpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Cloudpaw meowed firmly, his vow echoed by the other three apprentices.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Cloudpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Cloudtail," Bluestar meowed. "StarClan honors your bravery and your independence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

She rested her muzzle on Cloudtail's head, and the white warrior licked her shoulder respectfully. He moved aside to wait for the rest of his denmates to finish their ceremonies as Bluestar turned her attention to Swiftpaw next.

"Swiftpaw," she meowed. "From this moment on, you will be known as Swiftshade. StarClan honors your energy and your patience, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Once again, Bluestar rested her muzzle on Swiftshade's head, and he licked her shoulder in return. Swiftshade then went over to sit beside Cloudtail, his eyes glowing with pride. Fireheart couldn't help finding it strange that Bluestar had chosen to praise him for his patience since he had never thought the young tom to be a particularly tranquil cat. Perhaps, he thought, this was just her way of apologizing for making him wait so long.

"Thornpaw," the blue-gray she-cat meowed, snapping Fireheart out of his thoughts. "From this moment on, you will be known as Thornclaw. StarClan honors your intelligence and your courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

The same process was repeated, and the rest of the Clan began to grow anxious as Bluestar turned her attention to Brightpaw. She was the last of the apprentices to receive her warrior name, and they were eager to celebrate the promotion of four strong, capable ThunderClan cats.

"Brightpaw," Bluestar meowed. "From this moment on, you will be known as Brightheart. StarClan honors your spirit and your skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Once again, Bluestar rested her muzzle atop Brightheart's head, and the young she-cat licked her shoulder respectfully. She padded over to join the other new warriors, and a chant rose up among the rest of the Clan in celebration.

"Cloudtail! Brightheart! Swiftshade! Thornclaw!"

Fireheart padded over to his former apprentice, who was looking around himself with a glow of pride in his blue eyes. "Well done, Cloudtail," he meowed. "Your mother is going to be so proud of you when she hears."

Cloudtail purred happily. "Thanks, Fireheart. I'm glad you got to be here," he replied.

"Tonight, you all get to sit vigil," Sandstorm meowed, her eyes light as she came over to join them. "Enjoy the night while the rest of us get some sleep!"

"Speaking of sleep," Fireheart interjected with a yawn, suddenly feeling worn out. "I'll join you in the warriors' den later. Unless–"

"Oh, no you won't, Fireheart." It was Bluestar who spoke, padding up to him with Cinderpelt limping just behind her. "You're staying in the medicine den until we decide you've recovered enough to rejoin your denmates."

"Why?" Fireheart asked, staring at his former mentor in confusion. "I feel fine. I'm awake now, so why can't I sleep in my own nest?"

"You might be awake, but that doesn't mean you're completely healed," Cinderpelt meowed sternly. "If something happens and you aggravate your injury again, I need to be close by so I can help."

"But–"

"No buts," Bluestar interrupted. "Now, you look dead on your paws, so we'll take you back to Cinderpelt's den."

"I–don't–want–"

Try as he might, Fireheart lacked his usual strength and was unable to escape his Clan leader and medicine cat. Sighing in defeat, he allowed himself to be half-supported, half-dragged toward Cinderpelt's den, ignoring the chuckles of sympathy and amusement coming from behind him. He would make sure to get them back later, he promised himself, but for now, he was perfectly content to sleep the rest of the evening away.


	12. Bramblekit

Two sunrises after Fireheart woke up from his coma the flame-pelted warrior blinked his eyes open to find a familiar pair of amber orbs staring down at him. He leaped backward, startled, before realizing that the visitor was none other than Goldenflower's son, Bramblekit. The dark tabby kit was clutching a mouse in his jaws, a look of worry on his face as he gazed at the injured Clan deputy.

"Oh, Bramblekit," Fireheart meowed, trying to get his fur to lie flat. "Great StarClan, you startled me. I didn't know you were coming."

"Mother said I should bring you some fresh-kill," Bramblekit meowed shyly, his voice slightly muffled due to still having the mouse clamped between his teeth.

"Well, the mouse is more than welcome," Fireheart replied. More hesitantly, he added, "You might as well stay and have some yourself. I'm sure there's plenty for both of us."

Bramblekit's eyes widened in astonishment, and Fireheart supposed he couldn't blame him. He had never made any particular effort to be hospitable towards the young kit before, due to the discomfort he always felt around him. Usually, Fireheart would have just taken the mouse and sent Bramblekit on his way, but he felt obligated to be at least somewhat kinder than usual. After all, he didn't have to bring him food just because his mother suggested it.

"A-are you sure?" the tabby kit asked.

"Of course," Fireheart meowed, suppressing his growing feelings of foreboding. "Why don't you have the first bite? You did bring it, after all."

Looking slightly apprehensive, Bramblekit bowed his head and took a tentative bite out of the mouse. Once he had finished, Fireheart helped himself to a small morsel as well. They continued eating in silence for some time, neither cat knowing quite what to say to the other when suddenly the dark tabby spoke up again.

"Fireheart, why do you hate me?" he asked, turning so that he was facing the Clan deputy.

To say Fireheart was shocked by the question would be an understatement. He was so stunned that he almost forgot to breathe for a moment, resulting in him nearly choking on his food. After recovering from his small coughing fit, the ginger tom looked to Bramblekit, wondering if perhaps he'd misheard him somehow.

"I'm sorry?" he meowed. "What did you say?"

"I asked why you hated me," Bramblekit repeated. There was no trace of anger or hostility in the kit's amber eyes, just confusion and, unless Fireheart was mistaken, a bit of hurt as well.

"I don't _hate _you," Fireheart meowed. He tried to appear reassuring, but even to himself, his voice sounded more defensive than anything.

"But you don't trust me."

Fireheart opened his mouth to respond but found that he couldn't think of anything to say. Bramblekit was right; he _didn't _trust him, even as terrible as he knew it was to mistrust an innocent kit. Goldenflower knew of his misgivings, and they had been the subject of many recent conflicts between himself and the ginger queen. But he hadn't realized that Bramblekit was aware of his feelings as well.

"It's okay," Bramblekit meowed sadly. "I get those looks from other cats too. Smallear especially, even though the rest of the elders are nice to Tawnykit and me. But I wish I knew _why _everyone hated us."

Despite his misgivings, Fireheart couldn't help feeling a small pang of sympathy for Bramblekit. It was clear that he had no idea of the crimes his father had committed. With a slight pang of guilt, he remembered that Goldenflower had asked him to tell her kits the truth. Now was as good a time as ever, but Fireheart knew that Tawnykit needed to be present for the story as well, and he wasn't sure anyway if he was ready to tell them everything yet.

"You'll know in time," he meowed finally, unsure what else to say.

"But you know, don't you?" Bramblekit asked.

"I do, but it's not something I can tell you right now," Fireheart answered. "Besides, your sister needs to hear it too."

Bramblekit nodded reluctantly, then meowed, "I understand, Fireheart. But I wish I could know the truth so I would see why everyone treats me like I don't deserve to be one of the Clan."

Once again, Fireheart didn't know what to say. Bramblekit's words had struck a chord in his heart, bringing to mind memories of following Whitestorm and Lionheart through the forest, then battling with Longtail after the pale tabby had insulted him for being a kittypet. He remembered the constant taunts about his heritage he'd endured as an apprentice and even now as the Clan deputy and the way everyone blamed his mistakes on the fact that he wasn't a Clanborn cat.

_"Outsiders always bring trouble." _

_"Just what I'd expect from a kittypet." _

_"What are _you _looking at, kittypet? ThunderClan only wants loyal warriors." _

_"I always said bringing kittypets into the Clan was a bad idea." _

He hadn't seen it before, or perhaps he hadn't wanted to see it, but looking at the pain in Bramblekit's eyes now, Fireheart couldn't deny the truth any longer.

The little tabby kitten was just like him.

No, that wasn't quite right. Bramblekit was a better version of him.

He knew what it felt like to hear whispers every time he passed by a group of warriors, knew what it was like to have the Clan that was supposed to care for him act as if he were dirt that had somehow gotten tracked into the camp. Despite this, however, he still managed to be respectful of his superiors and seemed to get along well with the other nursery kits. If Fireheart had been in Bramblekit's place and Tigerclaw, Darkstripe, or Longtail had gotten confined to the medicine den due to an injury, he couldn't imagine being willing to take any of them fresh-kill.

"You know what, Bramblekit?" he meowed finally. "You're a great kit."

Bramblekit's eyes lit up. "Thank you!" he mewed happily. His innocent amber eyes met Fireheart's emerald ones, and the ginger tom felt something inside him soften. How could he hate this little kitten?

"Now, you should probably get back to the nursery soon," Fireheart meowed, glancing out at the slowly darkening sky. "Goldenflower will probably want you to get to sleep."

"Oh, okay." Bramblekit leaped to his paws and started towards the fern tunnel, then paused briefly and turned around again. "Er–can I visit again tomorrow, maybe?"

Fireheart considered the question for a moment before replying, "I don't see why not. As long as you don't wake me up by breathing down my neck again!"

The last sentence was said in a joking manner, and both cats shared a purr of amusement before Bramblekit turned away again and left Cinderpelt's den. Fireheart watched him go before curling up in his nest and closing his eyes, letting out one final chuckle of amusement before he dozed off.

Perhaps being confined to the medicine den wouldn't be so terrible after all.


	13. Sandstorm

After Bramblekit had gone back to the nursery, Fireheart was just about to close his eyes and get some sleep when he was interrupted by Sandstorm pushing her way through the fern tunnel. Despite his exhaustion, a warm feeling grew in his chest at the sight of the pale ginger she-cat. Her green eyes were soft with happiness and concern as she settled herself beside him, wrapping her tail neatly around her paws.

"H-hi," Fireheart stammered, then immediately cursed himself. _Idiot! Don't stutter like some sort of fox-hearted mouse!_

"Hi, Fireheart," Sandstorm meowed quietly.

"You, uh, did you need something?" the fire-colored warrior asked, his voice faltering.

"No," Sandstorm replied. "I only came here to visit you."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Fireheart meowed, trying not to show how pleased he felt. The last thing he needed was to seem pathetic in front of Sandstorm. "That's...that's nice of you. Really. It is."

The ginger molly purred and gently licked his cheek. "Mouse-brain," she meowed affectionately.

The two cats shared tongues for several long heartbeats, neither of them saying much of anything to the other. Both of them were too tired for conversation, and anyway, they were perfectly content to just enjoy each other's company. After a while, however, Sandstorm spoke up again.

"I'm really glad you're back, Fireheart," she meowed softly. "When we brought you back from the battle...well, Cinderpelt said it didn't look good for you. And then it took you days to wake up, and I think we all thought that–that maybe it really was the end. We were all worried sick about you, but..."

She didn't seem to be able to finish her sentence and allowed the rest of her words to die away. Hesitantly, Fireheart licked Sandstorm's forehead and felt her rest her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "For making all of you worry. I just–"

"No, Fireheart," Sandstorm interrupted him. "You don't have to apologize for anything. It's not your fault that Mudclaw is a disgusting disgrace to the warrior code and all that StarClan stands for."

"He is, isn't he?" Fireheart agreed. Silently, he wondered if it was unbecoming of the Clan deputy to disparage warriors of another Clan, but dismissed the thought almost immediately. Even ignoring what Mudclaw had done to him, Fireheart couldn't forget the way the treacherous WindClan warrior had stopped Bluestar from going to Highstones. It had been moons, granted, but he wasn't about to let it go anytime soon.

"Bluestar was distraught when you were hurt," Sandstorm meowed quietly. "She was in here practically every day while you were unconscious. I don't think I've ever seen her so worried about one of her warriors since...well, ever."

Fireheart shifted around uncomfortably. "She was probably just concerned because I was her apprentice," he pointed out. "I mean, don't mentors and apprentices usually have strong bonds?"

"I don't know. Whitestorm and I are good friends, but I can't imagine him being _that _worried about me," the pale ginger molly meowed thoughtfully. "But you and Bluestar have always been sort of...different. Sometimes, I think she acts more as though you're her kit instead of her former apprentice and deputy."

"Oh." Fireheart didn't exactly know what to say to that. He had known that Bluestar cared greatly for him, but then again, she cared for _all _her warriors–or at least she had before Tigerstar's betrayal had shaken her faith. But he had never considered the possibility that she might feel something that went beyond a mentor-apprentice or leader-warrior relationship.

Having barely any conscious memories of his birth mother, Fireheart didn't feel as attached to her as his Clanmates were to their own. Of course, he still cared about her, but it was difficult to truly miss someone he hadn't even known for more than a moon. The thought of Bluestar seeing him as her son, more or less becoming to him what Brindleface was to Cloudtail, certainly made him happy, but he couldn't help wondering why she felt that way about him. There were plenty of other warriors who had known her for far longer than he had, yet according to Sandstorm, he was special for some reason.

_But why, though? _Fireheart asked himself. Then he shook his head. _Oh well. No use trying to figure it out now, I suppose. _

"Fireheart?" Sandstorm meowed worriedly. "Are you okay?"

With a start, the ginger tom realized he'd been silent for several heartbeats. "Wha–oh! Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he meowed hastily, licking his chest fur. "Sorry. Got lost in thought, I guess."

"Did I say something to upset you?" Sandstorm asked, her green eyes anxious. "Was it about what I said about Bluestar? It didn't bother you, did it?"

"No, no," Fireheart answered quickly. "I guess it just kind of came as a surprise, you know since I'd never actually realized..."

"You're so dense," Sandstorm sighed. "Honestly, you should have seen her while you were unconscious. Whenever she was visiting you, the only cats who even were allowed to go near you were Cinderpelt, Cloudtail, and me. She's as protective of you as queens are during the first day after a litter is born."

"I–I see," Fireheart meowed awkwardly, feeling his fur grow hot with embarrassment. He knew that Sandstorm meant well, but did she have to make it sound as though he were a kit dying of greencough? For that matter, why did Bluestar apparently feel the need to act as though he were actually a kit?

On the other hand, he couldn't pretend as though the thought didn't warm him slightly.

By now, both Sandstorm and Fireheart were too worn out to share conversation any longer. Yawning, the flame-pelted tom curled up in his makeshift nest in the medicine den, closing his eyes. Sandstorm rose to her paws and was about to leave when Fireheart called out to her.

"You can stay if you want," he murmured, not opening his eyes. "I wouldn't mind some company...it gets cold in here at night."

Sandstorm didn't even hesitate before circling the mossy nest and curling up beside him, her warm fur pressed up against his flank. She licked his cheek, and he opened one eye ever so slightly before shutting it again. Within mere seconds, both warriors were fast asleep.

Unbeknownst to them, however, if they had stayed awake just a little bit longer, they would have heard Bluestar meow from the medicine den entrance, "Well, I believe the nursery will have another occupant within a few moons or so."


	14. Graystripe's Return

**Note: I'm just going to say it up front, in this AU, Mistyfoot and Stonefur don't find out that Bluestar's their mother during the battle at Sunningrocks. The reason for this will become apparent later in the story.**

* * *

Nearly half a moon had passed since Fireheart had woken up from his coma, and although Cinderpelt was no longer forcing him to sleep in the medicine den, she and Bluestar had forbidden him from taking part in any particularly arduous warrior tasks until he had completely recovered his strength. This meant that, while he was allowed to go hunting, he was not to participate in border patrols or any other jobs that might result in a battle. Ordinarily, Fireheart would have raised a fuss about being treated like a kit, but going on extra hunting patrols gave him a good excuse to spend more time with Sandstorm, who was easily the best hunter in the Clan.

In addition to spending time with his former enemy turned mate-but-not-officially-mate, Fireheart had also gotten to know Bramblekit a little better over the past half moon. He was surprised to learn that, while the tabby kit was Tigerstar's physical copy in every way, shape, and form, their personalities couldn't have been more different. Bramblekit was enthusiastic, free-spirited, and eager to please. Tigerstar could never be described as free-spirited, and the only thing he was enthusiastic about was his unbending desire to slaughter Bluestar and Fireheart–as well as the rest of ThunderClan. And Tigerstar had never been eager to please anyone, although perhaps that was because he never _had _to please anyone. He was respected–feared, really–by all the Clans in the forest. Fireheart and Bramblekit, on the other hand, had to work twice as hard and be twice as strong as their Clanmates, and even then, it still wasn't enough.

Goldenflower, for her part, wasn't quite sure where Fireheart's sudden amiability towards her son had come from. She was just happy that he wasn't looking at Bramblekit as though he would morph into Tigerstar and murder him anymore. Tawnykit had noticed the change as well and sometimes joined in when Fireheart was talking to her brother.

They were in the middle of one of their bonding sessions, as Willowpelt and Goldenflower had fondly referred to them as when a bedraggled-looking patrol headed by Bluestar returned to the camp. The state of the returning cats was alarming, not least because of the painful-looking bite Fireheart could see on his mentor's shoulder, but the ginger tom's attention was focused on a very familiar gray tabby standing in their midst.

"Graystripe?" Fireheart called out in disbelief. "What–Bluestar, what's happened? What are you doing here?"

"Fireheart!" Graystripe exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at the sight of his friend. "Great news! I'm back with ThunderClan now."

"We met a RiverClan patrol at Sunningrocks," Bluestar explained, wincing as she shifted her weight off of her injured shoulder. "Leopardstar seemed to think she was going to take back the rocks because of what RiverClan did for us during the fire."

She curled her lip as if to say that, while she appreciated the risks RiverClan had taken in saving them from being burned alive, she would rather let herself be slain by Tigerstar than give up Sunningrocks–and certainly not to Leopardstar, of all cats.

"Anyway, there was a battle, as you would expect," the blue-gray molly continued. "We were about to get torn to shreds, but fortunately, Whitestorm, Brightheart, Thornclaw, and Dustpelt arrived in time to help. Graystripe was exiled though because he warned me when Leopardstar was about to attack me from behind. He asked to come back to ThunderClan, and, well, I couldn't say no after that."

Fireheart looked between his leader and his best friend. Some of the warriors didn't look pleased with her decision, he noticed, but she didn't appear to notice or care. "Well, I guess you can't say fairer than that."

Bramblekit and Tawnykit bounded up to Graystripe, looking the gray tabby eagerly in the eyes. "You're Graystripe? Fireheart was just telling us stories about all the stuff you guys did before we were born," the small she-cat meowed. "Is it true that you guys fought Brokenstar and rescued Cinderpelt, Brightheart, Thornclaw, and Brackenfur when they were kits? And did Fireheart really feed Yellowfang and bring her back to camp?"

While the kits were busy pestering Graystripe, who was more than happy to entertain them with a few stories, Fireheart followed his leader into the medicine den. She was getting her wound dressed when he entered and gave him a friendly purr when she saw him.

"Fireheart," Bluestar greeted him, warmth lacing her mew. "What can I do for you?"

"Just checking in, Bluestar. I feel it's the least I could do after being useless for the past half moon or so." He tried to sound lighthearted but was unable to keep a note of bitterness out of his voice.

"Is something wrong?" his former mentor asked, her forehead creasing with worry.

Fireheart flicked his tail uncomfortably. "I...I guess...I just wish I could have been there," he admitted. "I _should _have been there. I'm supposed to be the deputy. But instead, I'm just sitting around camp all day, playing with kits. Like an elder or a queen. Not to say that there's anything _wrong _with elders or queens, but...I'm supposed to have a duty to the Clan, and it's not either of those."

"But Fireheart, we _told _you that you weren't to risk injuring yourself again until we cleared you," Cinderpelt broke in. "I know you're frustrated, but think how much worse things would be if you'd gotten hurt again in the battle with RiverClan today–or worse, killed. You honored your leader's and your medicine cat's wishes, and that will _always _be one of your duties to the Clan."

"I suppose you're right about that," Fireheart agreed reluctantly. "It's just...well, I can't help but feel that if Tigerstar were still deputy and he was in my position, he'd be a lot less useless than I am right now."

In an instant, Bluestar was on her feet. "That's it!" she hissed, and Fireheart flinched at her sudden anger. "Fireheart, I'm _not _going to sit here and listen to you degrade yourself. You are _not _useless, and frankly, I'm tired of you trying to be a copy of Tigerstar. He's the _last _cat you should be trying to emulate; you out of everyone should know that."

"I'm not trying to _be _Tigerstar!" Fireheart meowed, feeling defensive. "All I'm saying is that he'd be handling this a lot better than I am. If it were him, he would have been at the battle today _and _would probably have given at least half of RiverClan some serious wounds to think about, life-threatening injury recovery or not."

"Would he?" Bluestar asked doubtfully. "Tigerstar might be a formidable opponent in battle, Fireheart, but that doesn't mean he's invincible. And you were on the edge of death for days. Even he would have trouble recovering from an injury such as that."

Fireheart shifted about on his paws. "I know," he meowed. "It's just...I don't know. Never mind."

Bluestar studied him for a few moments, then turned to Cinderpelt and meowed, "Excuse me, but I need to speak to Fireheart alone in my den for a while. I'll come back later if there's anything else you need to look at."

Before Cinderpelt had time to form a proper response, the ThunderClan leader was already on her paws and padding out of the medicine den, beckoning with her tail for Fireheart to follow her. Reluctantly, the flame-pelted warrior took after her, knowing that nothing good could come of this discussion. Once they were inside her den, Bluestar took a seat in her mossy nest and turned to face him.

"Alright," she meowed matter-of-factly. "We're alone, this is a private conversation, so I want you to tell me the truth: what is it that's bothering you? And don't say that it's because you've had to sit around camp for the past half moon, because I know you well enough to know that's not all that's going on."

_Great, you're really determined to back me into a corner, aren't you? _Fireheart thought with a groan. Out loud, he replied slowly, "Well...I guess it really has to do with getting to know Bramblekit recently."

Bluestar purred slightly to show him how pleased she was that he was opening up to her. Then she meowed, "Carry on."

"I know I've had a bit of a reputation for not being very...nice...to him, but I've learned that we have a lot more in common than I thought," he continued. "And I'm not just talking about the fact that there are cats–Clanmates–who hate us due to circumstances beyond our control. We both have Tigerstar's reputation hanging over our heads, Bramblekit because he's his blasted father, and me because I had to take over his position as Clan deputy. And sometimes, it's hard not to think that the Clan would rather have Tigerstar protecting them than me. Yes, he is a murderer and a traitor, but his strength in battle is legendary, and you'd have to be an idiot to deny that. And until we told the truth about him to the Clan, they were as loyal to him as they are to you, Bluestar. But...I don't have that, and it's not hard to see why. I'm not a particularly exceptional fighter, nor am I the best hunter in the Clan, although I get by well enough. The only thing I'm really known for is being your kittypet apprentice. So already, most of them probably think you only chose me because you were playing favorites, not to mention that there were plenty of other, more qualified warriors. The fact that my ceremony was late certainly made the elders..."

He broke off, not wanting to say anything that might be considered disrespectful. Even if he wasn't particularly fond of the elders, Smallear in particular, he knew better than to insult them.

"What about them?" Bluestar asked.

Fireheart hesitated for a moment, then meowed, "Some of the elders–mostly Smallear–thought that because my naming ceremony broke the warrior code, it meant my deputyship was going to be a bad time for the Clan. And it only got worse after the fire, when Smallear more or less said that our territory burning to the ground was my fault–"

"He WHAT?!" Bluestar snarled angrily, jumping to her paws.

"Well, maybe not that it was necessarily my _fault_," Fireheart amended hastily. "Just that StarClan was showing its wrath for my naming ceremony."

"I'm going over there to have a word with that miserable old bag of bones," his former mentor hissed. "How dare he? Don't pay attention to a word he says, Fireheart. You are _not _a curse. Just because your naming ceremony broke the warrior code does not mean that every spell of bad luck that falls our way is your fault."

Fireheart purred, warmed by his leader's support. "Thanks, Bluestar. But please don't kill Smallear just yet," he meowed. "I'd kind of miss the old heap of fox dung if he weren't around to give me headaches. Where else would I get my daily dose of pain and suffering from?"

They laughed at that for a moment, both of them apparently forgetting that the leader and deputy of a Clan shouldn't be insulting their elders. When they had finally calmed down, Fireheart dipped his head to Bluestar and turned to leave her den. As soon as he exited, he spotted Graystripe sitting a few tail-lengths away from the fresh-kill pile, about to tear into a vole. Sandstorm was sitting with him, eating a juicy-looking rabbit. Fireheart padded over to the prey pile and selected a small mouse before going over to join them, earning himself a purr from Sandstorm.

"Hope you don't mind me interrupting your lunch," Fireheart joked.

"You're always welcome," Graystripe meowed cheerfully. "I've only just managed to escape from Bramblekit and Tawnykit. Those two are quite the little bundles of energy."

"They are," Fireheart agreed, taking a bite of his mouse. "Hopefully that energy doesn't get them into trouble when they become apprentices!"

"Speaking of which, when _do _they become apprentices?" the gray warrior asked. "It must be time soon, shouldn't it? After all, Bramblekit and Tawnykit are older than–"

He broke off, a sad look clouding his gaze. With a pang, Fireheart remembered Graystripe's two kits, whom he'd left behind in RiverClan. Beside him, Sandstorm's muscles had tensed slightly, although he suspected that it had less to do with Featherkit and Stormkit than the prospect of new apprentices in the Clan. Sandstorm was the only one from Fireheart's apprentice days that hadn't yet received an apprentice except for Ravenpaw, who would never experience a warrior ceremony, much less ever become a mentor. But Fireheart, Graystripe, and Dustpelt had all been given at least one apprentice, and Fireheart had trained two so far. Sandstorm hadn't been pleased when he hadn't chosen her to mentor Fernpaw or Ashpaw, and he knew that she would be furious if he passed her over again.

Yet at the same time, Fireheart also knew that he would be putting Sandstorm in danger if he gave her one of Tigerstar's kits to mentor. The ShadowClan leader had made no secret of his interest in his children, and with Darkstripe dead, there was no one to sneak them off to visit him anymore. Fireheart suspected that Tigerstar would try to take his kits by force, and if that meant he had to kill their mentors in order to get to them, he wouldn't hesitate to do so.

"I suppose I should talk to Bluestar about mentors soon," he meowed finally, careful not to give anything away. "I'll be asking if I can mentor Bramblekit, though."

"And Tawnykit?" Sandstorm asked.

Fireheart hesitated for a moment. "Well...I know you haven't had an apprentice, Sandstorm..."

"But?" the ginger molly meowed, a challenge flashing in her green eyes.

"But...well, there's no good way to say this...I'm concerned about Tigerstar," he meowed. Before Sandstorm could protest, he quickly added, "I don't mean to say that you can't take care of yourself. It's just that I don't want to be the reason you become an even bigger target for him."

"What about you?" Sandstorm asked. "You're mentoring Bramblekit."

"That's different," Fireheart protested. "Tigerstar hates my guts, and he'd find a reason to kill me even if I never even spoke to his kits. But the only thing you're guilty of, in his eyes at least, is being a member of ThunderClan. You're in no more danger than anyone else here, save for Bluestar and I. If you mentor Tawnykit..."

"I know, Fireheart," Sandstorm meowed, her eyes softening. "But that's a risk I'm willing to take if it means I can finally have an apprentice. Except for the new warriors, Brackenfur, and Frostfur, I'm the only one that hasn't received an apprentice yet, and I'm more experienced than all of them except Frostfur."

By that logic, Fireheart thought, he should be giving Tawnykit to Frostfur, although he guessed Sandstorm wouldn't be amused by that suggestion. If she was willing to take the risk of mentoring one of Tigerstar's kits, he supposed he should trust her to take care of herself. Sandstorm was a capable warrior; she didn't need him to look after her.

Besides, if they were mentors together, it would give him another excuse to spend time with her. And that could only be a good thing.

"All right, Sandstorm," he meowed finally. "You'll be the mentor to Tawnykit."

Sandstorm's tail shot up, her eyes glowing with delight. "Great! Thanks, Fireheart," she purred.

Fireheart purred back, but on the inside, he felt a pang of worry. Despite his reassurances to himself that Sandstorm could deal with Tigerstar if it came down to it, he still couldn't shake the feeling that his decision had sealed her doom.


	15. Apprentices

**Okay, okay, I promise I'll update Echoing Flames soon, but I'm a little stuck on what to do about Redtail's fate. He will have to die for the story to progress in the way I have planned, but I haven't decided whether to kill him off at Sunningrocks (in this case, Tigerclaw would be his murderer, but Firepaw would be a witness as well as Ravenpaw) or in the battle against ShadowClan. If I go with the second option (honestly, I'm leaning towards that one at the moment), I'll have Lionheart die in that battle as well to show the cruelty of Brokenstar's followers.**

**Shadowwolf1997: Glad you enjoyed them! And yes, yes I did. Making ominous endings feeds the black, shriveled mass I have for a soul, didn't you know? **

**Sir Nut: I will neither confirm nor deny this. **

**Arcantos the Storyteller: It's not gone, but it's not going to be something I bring up on a consistent basis if you know what I mean. This is just going to be one of those insecurities that decide to rear its ugly head every now and then. The best way I can describe it (using my own personal experiences) is the feeling a musician has whenever they have to perform. No matter how many hours of practice you put it, there's always a lingering feeling of inadequacy, especially when you have to listen to other more talented musicians. It's not a constant burden, but it does make its presence known every so often. **

* * *

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting," Bluestar yowled.

Fireheart padded towards the Highrock, followed by Sandstorm and Graystripe. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Bramblekit and Tawnykit being led to the meeting by Goldenflower, their pelts glowing as if they'd just been groomed. Tawnykit was practically bouncing up and down eagerly, while Bramblekit was making more of an effort to appear calm. Despite his efforts, however, Fireheart could still see the gleam of enthusiasm in his amber eyes. A moon ago, he would have been unsettled at the excitement of the kitten who looked so much like his murderous father, but time had proven that Fireheart's suspicions about Bramblekit had been wrong.

"The time has come to appoint mentors to two of ThunderClan's youth," Bluestar meowed from her place on the Highrock. "Bramblekit and Tawnykit have reached their sixth moon, and they are ready to become apprentices. Tawnykit, step forward."

The small tortoiseshell molly padded a few steps away from her brother, looking up at her Clan leader expectantly. She had calmed down after her initial excitement, although her eyes were still glowing. Fireheart, however, noticed Smallear giving her a cold stare that he didn't even bother to hide. Tawnykit seemed oblivious, but the ginger tom made a mental note to keep an eye on the elder.

"Tawnykit, from this moment on, you will be known as Tawnypaw," Bluestar continued with the ceremony. "Sandstorm, please come forward."

Sandstorm rose to her paws and walked over to join her soon-to-be apprentice. Her green eyes were shining with almost as much excitement as Tawnypaw's, and her head was held high with pride. Fireheart purred to himself, happy that he had decided to allow her to mentor Tawnypaw after all. He shuddered to think what would have happened if he'd chosen to pass her over again. Sandstorm was many things, he knew, but an easily forgiving cat was not one of them.

"Sandstorm, Fireheart tells me you are ready for your first apprentice. You will mentor Tawnypaw," Bluestar meowed. "Sandstorm, you had a strong teacher in Whitestorm, and you are an excellent hunter. I expect you to pass on all the skills you learned from him to your new apprentice."

"I will," Sandstorm promised solemnly, bending her head forward to touch noses with Tawnypaw.

"Bramblekit, come forward, please," Bluestar meowed, turning to Tawnypaw's brother next.

Had Bramblekit and Tawnykit's apprentice ceremony taken place at the same time or at least around the same time as Ashpaw and Fernpaw's, Fireheart knew that his leader would probably have been just as suspicious of the tabby kit as he had once been. Now, however, there was nothing but pride and a bit of excitement at the thought of having new warriors to defend her Clan in her blue eyes. Indeed, had he not known any better, he would never have guessed that Bramblekit was the carbon copy of the cat who had tried to murder her.

"Bramblekit, until the day you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Bramblepaw," the blue-gray molly meowed. "Your new mentor will be Fireheart."

Fireheart stood up and approached Bramblepaw, who was practically bouncing up and down on his paws. _What a warrior he'll make! _

"Fireheart, you have shown yourself to be a warrior of rare courage and quick thinking," Bluestar continued. A look of pride flashed in her eyes as she gazed down at her former apprentice, and Fireheart felt his pelt prickle with warmth. "I trust that you will pass on the skills you possess to your new apprentice."

"With pleasure," Fireheart promised, touching noses with Bramblepaw.

"Bramblepaw! Tawnypaw! Bramblepaw! Tawnypaw!"

As cheers for the new apprentices rose from the surrounding cats–Fireheart noticed that Smallear wasn't among them, though fortunately, neither of the apprentices seemed to be aware of their Clanmate's hostility–the four cats turned and padded back into the crowd. Bramblepaw practically skipped the whole way, already bombarding his new mentor with questions.

"What are we going to do first, Fireheart? I want to learn _everything_," he meowed eagerly. "Fighting, hunting, where the best place to gather moss is, all of it. Can we start learning now? I want to be a warrior just like you someday!"

"Well, you'll have to spend six moons as a kittypet if you want to be _just _like me," Fireheart joked, and Bramblepaw gave a mew of laughter. "And it's getting late, so we'll save training for tomorrow. I'll probably have to wait a bit until I can take you battle training since I'm still recovering from my injury, but I can teach you how to hunt and I'm sure one of the other warriors would be happy to teach you a few battling skills until Cinderpelt gives me the clear."

"That's okay, Fireheart. I understand," Bramblepaw meowed.

Fireheart nodded to his apprentice, then replied, "Alright, go eat and then get to know your new denmates. I need to speak to Bluestar, but I'll see you in the morning for a tour of ThunderClan territory."

Bramblepaw dipped his head before bounding off in the direction of the apprentices' den. Fireheart watched him go for a few heartbeats before turning around and padding off to find Bluestar. He spotted her talking to Whitestorm near the base of the Highrock and went over to join them.

"–and I was going to ask if–ah, Fireheart," Bluestar greeted him. "Is there something you needed?"

"I was just going to ask if I could speak to you, Bluestar," Fireheart meowed, dipping his head respectfully. With an apologetic glance at Whitestorm, he added, "Er–privately? If that's alright."

"Of course," Bluestar meowed kindly. To Whitestorm, she added, "I'll be back shortly. Fireheart, come with me."

Nodding to Whitestorm, Fireheart followed his leader around the side of the Highrock and into her den. He watched as she settled herself in her nest, licking her paw and drawing it over her face. Once she had finished grooming herself, she looked at him with an expectant glint in her eyes.

"Alright," she meowed. "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"It's about Smallear, Bluestar," her deputy meowed at once.

"What about him?" Bluestar asked.

"During the meeting, I noticed that he was glaring at Tawnypaw when she was receiving her name," Fireheart explained. "I didn't look to see if he was giving the same look to Bramblepaw, but it's not hard to imagine that he was. And I also noticed that he didn't congratulate them like the rest of the Clan."

He took a deep breath and continued, "I'm not going to pretend that I've always believed that Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw were more than just Tigerstar's kits. For the longest time, especially with Bramblepaw, I believed that they would turn out just like him–and that was wrong of me. But even then, I never wanted them to feel as if they weren't welcome in ThunderClan. And if Smallear continues behaving the way he did today, I can see it causing trouble later. Because the Clan respects their elders, and I wouldn't put it past him to use that respect to manipulate others into distrusting Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw."

Bluestar's voice was thoughtful as she replied, "I did notice that Smallear was less enthusiastic than the rest of the Clan, but I didn't imagine that he could go so far as to turn them against two apprentices. Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw are his grandchildren, and..."

"I don't know for sure that he will do anything," Fireheart meowed quickly. "But with the way he was acting today, and considering who their father is, I wouldn't put it past him. I felt the same way at one point, so I can't entirely blame him, but Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw have done nothing to deserve anyone's hatred, and I won't let some cranky old elder turn their Clanmates against them. I know what it's like to feel unwelcome in your own home."

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Bluestar asked.

"Well, first I'll ask Cinderpelt if mouse bile can be used to make grumpy old toms disappear like ticks," Fireheart meowed, earning himself a snort of amusement from his leader. "Kidding. I guess there's really nothing we _can _do for now. Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw will have to take care of them as part of their training, so I'll wait and see if he learns to change his opinion of them. If he doesn't, well, I make no promises except that I won't do anything that will cause him any real harm."

"Very well," Bluestar meowed a gleam of amusement but also a gleam of pride in her icy blue eyes. "You're a good cat, Fireheart."

Fireheart felt his fur grow hot. "Well, I don't know," he meowed awkwardly.

"Although you need to work on receiving compliments," his former mentor noted humorously. "Now, I still need to speak to Whitestorm, so if there's nothing else...?"

"No, no, that's fine for now. Thanks, Bluestar," Fireheart meowed, dipping his head and backing out of his leader's den.

He padded away from Bluestar's den, reflecting on the conversation he'd just had with the ThunderClan leader. Part of him knew he shouldn't have spoken about Smallear so disrespectfully, but Fireheart's patience with him was wearing incredibly thin. It was a pity as well. The elderly tom had been tolerable when Fireheart had first joined the Clan, but over time he had grown more and more hostile, always finding something to complain about. His constant degrading of Fireheart's deputyship was enough to get him on his bad side, but he might be able to learn to overlook it one day. Bullying apprentices, however, was something he would not tolerate. Despite what he had told Bluestar, Fireheart knew that Smallear was the type of cat to manipulate others into turning against Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw. Even though he knew it was a cruel comparison, Smallear's behavior reminded him far too much of the way Tigerstar had treated Ravenpaw.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Fireheart walked over to join Sandstorm for an evening meal, wishing more than anything that he could suppress the resentment and anger lingering in the pit of his stomach.


	16. Training and Stories

The leaf-fall morning air was crisp and chilled as Fireheart and Sandstorm led Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw in the direction of the Thunderpath. They were taking their apprentices on a tour of ThunderClan territory, much like they had done on their first days as apprentices themselves. Fireheart had chosen to avoid Snakerocks, not wanting to take the risk of running into the dogs that had been scented there recently, but they had spent a considerable amount of time at Sunningrocks. Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw were eager to learn all about their Clan's territory, and Fireheart was just pleased to finally have a chance to get out of the camp.

"Look over there, Tawnypaw," Sandstorm meowed, stopping a few tree-lengths from the ShadowClan border. "See that over there? That's the Thunderpath. And across from there, you have ShadowClan territory."

Tawnypaw's eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh! I remember this place!" she exclaimed. "Darkstripe took us here when we met our father!"

"_What?_" Fireheart couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Slow down. Back up a little. What do you mean, Darkstripe took you to meet your father? When did this happen?"

The two apprentices glanced at each other nervously. "W-well, it happened when Bluestar took the patrol to attack WindClan," Bramblepaw finally meowed. "While you were gone, Darkstripe snuck us away from the camp. He told us that he was going to take us to meet our father. We came here to the Thunderpath, and Tigerstar was waiting for us."

Sandstorm let out an exasperated hiss and Fireheart lashed his tail, fury shooting through him. How dare Darkstripe put two innocent kits in danger just so he could please his traitor of a friend? Even if Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw had asked to meet their father, there was no excuse for taking kits away from the camp–particularly after what had happened to Snowkit. The dark tabby was fortunate that he was dead, or else Fireheart might have clawed his fur off for being so irresponsible.

"Fireheart?" Bramblepaw asked, looking at his mentor fearfully. "Are–are you mad at us? Did we do something wrong?"

Fireheart sighed, forcing the fur on his shoulders to lie flat. "No, Bramblepaw," he replied, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. "I'm not mad at you or Tawnypaw. You two have done nothing wrong. It's Darkstripe I'm angry with. He took two kits out of the safety of the camp, where anything could have attacked you two and right after we lost Snowkit to a hawk. There's no excuse for what he did, but you two aren't to blame for anything."

Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw relaxed visibly. "Okay, Fireheart. Thank you," the dark tabby tom meowed. He hesitated for a moment, then added, "But...why did he leave ThunderClan?"

At once, Fireheart felt a wave of relief wash over him. If Bramblepaw was asking him why his father had left to join ShadowClan, that meant that Tigerstar hadn't given them a biased account of why he left ThunderClan. That relief soon turned to dismay, however, when he realized that meant it was now up to him to fulfill the promise he'd made to Goldenflower. He only hoped that they wouldn't take the truth too hard.

"You'll have to tell them eventually," Sandstorm murmured, giving him a sympathetic look. Fireheart nodded and turned to face the two apprentices, who were gazing at him curiously.

"It's a long story," he began. "And before I tell you, I just want you both to know that what happened is not your fault in any way."

They nodded, but Fireheart could see a flash of fear in their eyes. He took a deep breath and began to tell them their father's story.

"Tigerstar is and was a great warrior," the fiery-colored warrior continued. "And he always wanted to be the leader of a Clan. Before he left, he was the deputy of ThunderClan."

Bramblepaw's eyes glowed with excitement. "When I'm a warrior, I'd like to be a deputy too."

Fireheart chuckled at the ambition of his apprentice, so much like what many other cats his age had. "Well, if you work hard, who knows? You just might be one day," he meowed. His voice resumed its serious tone again, however, as he continued, "Anyway, as I said, Tigerstar has always been a great warrior. But he was...overly ambitious. As I said before, he always wanted to become a Clan leader...and he went too far in trying to achieve his goals. Before you two were born, there was a battle with RiverClan over Sunningrocks, and he used that battle to kill Redtail, who was the ThunderClan deputy at the time. He blamed it on a RiverClan warrior, but eventually, the truth came out. It always does."

He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw were staring at him in horror.

"Why–why did he think killing Redtail would make him deputy?" Bramblepaw stammered.

"He thought that he would be rewarded for avenging Redtail–or at least appearing to," Fireheart meowed, feeling sick that he was having to reveal such heinous stories about their father. He didn't know what he would have done if _his _father turned out to be a murderer. The best thing he could do was try to tell Tigerstar's story in as unbiased an account as possible, while also not alienating them from their birth Clan. "He made it look as though Oakheart–he was the RiverClan deputy at the time–had murdered Redtail, and that Tigerstar had killed Oakheart in revenge. Tigerstar hoped that he would be made deputy in Redtail's place, but Bluestar chose a cat called Lionheart instead."

"Did–did Tigerclaw kill Lionheart as well?" Bramblepaw asked, his voice quivering.

"No, he didn't. Lionheart died in a battle with ShadowClan. Tigerstar was made the deputy then, but it wasn't enough for him anymore. He wanted to be our leader. You were too young to remember, but shortly after you were born, he led a group of rogues into our camp. But the battle itself was only a diversion so he could try to kill Bluestar."

"Kill _Bluestar!_" Tawnypaw gasped. "How could he? She's our leader!"

Despite the severity of the situation, Fireheart couldn't help noting the irony in where the emphasis was placed in Tawnypaw's exclamation. It wasn't the crime that shocked her, it was the cat being targeted.

"Tigerstar thought that he would be made ThunderClan's leader in her place. If he had succeeded, it's likely that he would be ThunderClan's leader now," Fireheart explained. "But instead, he was sent into exile, and a few moons later, he became the leader of ShadowClan. Don't ask me what StarClan was thinking."

The two apprentices glanced at each other. "So...so our father was a traitor?" Bramblepaw asked.

"Well..yes," Fireheart admitted, exchanging an uneasy glance with Sandstorm.

"Is that why the Clan hates us?" his apprentice asked quietly. "I've seen the way some of them look at us. Especially Smallear. They think we're going to be just like our father, don't they?"

His voice sounded so defeated and sad that Fireheart was unable to suppress a pang of guilt. Even though he had squashed his feelings of suspicion around Goldenflower's kits, it still made him feel ashamed to know that he had mistrusted them simply because of who their father was.

"I know how you two feel," he meowed gently. At their disbelieving looks, he added, "No, I do. I was born outside of ThunderClan, so I know what it's like to feel as though your Clanmates don't trust you. But no one _hates _you two, not anyone that matters, and the ones who do..._they _don't matter."

"Really?" Tawnypaw asked hopefully.

"Really," Fireheart confirmed. "Just train hard and serve your Clan well, and everyone will soon realize that the two of you are fine members of ThunderClan. And if Smallear gives you any trouble...I'll stick fire ants in his nest. Or maybe I'll sneak catnip in his fresh-kill. He could do with a laugh, it seems."

He was relieved to see their gazes brighten, their whiskers twitching with barely suppressed laughter. Beside him, Sandstorm was giving him a half-exasperated, half-amused look. Perhaps disrespecting an elder in front of two apprentices wasn't the best course of action, but Fireheart wasn't concerned with that at the moment.

"Right," he meowed. "Now that we have all that out of the way, let's continue with our tour, shall we?"

"Okay," the two apprentices agreed.

"Alright then," Sandstorm meowed. "Since we're already here, let's talk a little bit about the Thunderpath..."

* * *

Later that evening, the four cats finally returned back to the camp. Fireheart was relieved to see that learning the truth about their father didn't appear to have dampened Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw's spirits. As soon as they arrived back home, they thanked their mentors for taking them around the territory before bounding off to play-fight with Fernpaw and Ashpaw.

"Those two will make wonderful warriors for ThunderClan someday," Sandstorm murmured, her fur pressed against his flank. "I just hope the rest of the Clan can see it."

"Sooner or later, they will," Fireheart replied. "After all, most of them learned to accept _me _eventually, didn't they?"

"Darkstripe didn't," the ginger molly pointed out.

"Fair point, but he's dead," Fireheart meowed, before realizing what he had just implied. "Oh, uh, I mean..."

Sandstorm chuckled and pressed her nose against his cheek. "Mouse-brain," she meowed affectionately. "Come on, let's see if there's anything left of the fresh-kill pile. Hopefully, Graystripe saved some for us."

Fireheart purred softly and the two of them walked over to the pile of fresh-kill. As it turned out, Graystripe had saved a few pieces, specifically, a thrush and two chaffinches. He picked up one of the chaffinches, while Sandstorm selected the thrush. As they padded towards the clump of nettles where the senior warriors ate their meals, Fireheart noticed Bluestar watching him with a knowing gleam in her eyes. When their eyes met, she gave a meaningful glance in the direction of the nursery, then back towards Sandstorm. It took a few heartbeats for the message to get across, but once it did, Fireheart could feel his fur grow hot with embarrassment. Bluestar, meanwhile, gave him a cheerful flick of her tail, as if she hadn't just caused what little dignity he had to shrivel up and die.

Oh well, he would find a way to get back at her later.


	17. Tigerstar's Request

The full moon rose steadily above Fourtrees as Bluestar led her Clan to the Gathering. Fireheart followed behind his leader, flanked by Sandstorm and Cloudtail. Graystripe had begged to attend, wanting to get news of Featherkit and Stormkit. However, Bluestar had gently refused, reminding the gray warrior that he would be inviting hostility from RiverClan by appearing so soon after his ungraceful exit. Fireheart had attempted to comfort his friend by promising to ask any RiverClan warriors about his kits. Fortunately, this had done the trick, and Graystripe had looked noticeably happier as he watched the Gathering patrol departing from the camp.

Privately, Fireheart had his own trepidations about attending the meeting. Even though he knew that WindClan probably wouldn't be in a friendly mood, it still stung to know that he wouldn't be able to talk to Onewhisker, Morningflower, or Gorsepaw the same way he used to. But then, that was a sacrifice he'd chosen to make, wasn't it? He'd been given a choice between his Clan leader and his WindClan friends, and he'd chosen Bluestar. As much as it hurt knowing that he'd given up three great friends, Fireheart didn't regret his decision.

"Fireheart?" The ginger warrior's thoughts were interrupted by Bramblepaw padding up to him. "Tigerstar will be at the Gathering, won't he?"

"He's a Clan leader, so yes," Fireheart meowed slowly, glancing over at Bluestar, but his leader didn't seem to mind the young apprentice asking about his father. "Unless, of course, he's somehow managed to spontaneously combust sometime between the last full moon and now. Or something. Why do you ask?"

Bramblepaw shifted about nervously. "W-well, I was just wondering if Tawnypaw and I should talk to him since he's our father and all."

"Do you _want _to talk to him?" Fireheart asked.

"No," his apprentice admitted. "But...he's our father, so–"

"Then don't," he interrupted. "Just because he's your father doesn't mean you have to talk to him if you don't want."

Bramblepaw nodded, looking relieved. "Okay, Fireheart. Thank you," he meowed, turning around and bounding over to his sister.

"I think we're going to have trouble with ShadowClan over those two," Fireheart muttered to Bluestar, once his apprentice was out of earshot. "Something tells me that Tigerstar is going to want his kits back."

"Tigerstar can cause trouble all he wants," Bluestar replied evenly. "He's not getting them. If he wanted to keep his kits, perhaps he should have thought of that _before _he betrayed ThunderClan."

Fireheart nodded, slightly cheered by his former mentor's good spirits. With a flick of her tail, Bluestar signaled for her warriors to follow her down the slope into the clearing. Once he had descended into the throng of cats, Fireheart broke away and walked over to Stonefur, who was talking to Deadfoot near the base of one of the four great oaks. The RiverClan deputy dipped his head respectfully to him when he saw Fireheart, while Deadfoot merely curled his lip. Fireheart returned the gesture, ignoring the lame-footed warrior.

"Hello, Fireheart," Stonefur greeted him.

"Stonefur," Fireheart meowed politely.

"I see you're alright, then," Deadfoot cut in. Although his words were friendly, his tone was not.

"Obviously," Fireheart retorted coolly. "Would I be here if I wasn't?"

Deadfoot looked ready to swipe his claws over Fireheart's muzzle, but Stonefur's whiskers were twitching as though he was suppressing a laugh.

"So, how's Graystripe doing?" the RiverClan warrior asked. Fireheart listened for hostility in his mew, but there was none.

"He's doing alright, but he misses his kits," he replied honestly.

"I suppose he would," Stonefur agreed.

"How are they, by the way? If you don't mind me asking, of course," Fireheart meowed quickly.

"They're doing fine," the older warrior answered. "Just apprenticed recently, as a matter of fact. Mistyfoot and I are mentoring them."

"Oh, really? Congratulations," Fireheart meowed. Privately, however, he couldn't help thinking what a strange coincidence it was that two half-ThunderClan warriors were mentoring two half-ThunderClan apprentices. He hoped that it _was _only a coincidence and that Leopardstar hadn't found out about Mistyfoot and Stonefur's heritage. Then again, Bluestar hadn't made any mention of her kits after the battle at Sunningrocks, so perhaps there was nothing to worry about.

A yowl from the top of the Great Rock interrupted their conversation. Fireheart turned his head to look up at Bluestar, who was seated beside Leopardstar. He noticed that the spotted RiverClan leader didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements, but he couldn't help feeling relieved. Better to have Bluestar sitting next to Leopardstar, he decided, than Tallstar, who would no doubt be resentful after her attack on his camp, or Tigerstar, her sworn enemy since his exile several moons ago.

"Cats of all Clans, welcome," Bluestar meowed, her voice ringing out clear and strong across the hollow. "Tigerstar has informed me that he would wish to speak first."

She dipped her head to the ShadowClan leader, moving back to allow him to stand at the front of the Great Rock. Fireheart admired her resolve in being able to treat the cat who had tried to murder her with such respect. He doubted that he would have been able to do the same if he'd been in her place.

"Thank you, Bluestar," Tigerstar meowed evenly before turning to face the throng of cats beneath him. "Cats of all Clans, I come with a request. As many of you know, when I left _ThunderClan–Ha, more like when you were exiled like the pathetic traitor you are,_ Fireheart thought– "two kits of mine were in the nursery. They were too young to come with me then, but now that they are older and apprenticed–or nearly old enough to be apprenticed–it is time for them to join me."

Yowls of protest rose from the ThunderClan cats. Fireheart, however, was too stunned to join in. Despite his warning to Bluestar that Tigerstar would probably want his kits back, he hadn't expected a public demand for them to be handed over to ShadowClan. With a sinking feeling, he wondered just how much trouble ThunderClan would face when Tigerstar found out that he had been chosen to mentor one of his kits.

Bluestar drew herself up and waited for the noise to die down before replying. "Certainly not," she replied. "These are ThunderClan's kits. They are apprentices now, and they will stay where they belong. If you wanted your kits, Tigerstar, you should have thought of that a few moons ago. Not that it would have changed my answer, of course."

"In ThunderClan?" Tigerstar challenged her. "I think not, Bluestar. The kits belong with me, and _my _warriors will take care of their training."

_Is that supposed to be a good thing? _Fireheart could read the unspoken question in Bluestar's eyes. However, the blue-gray molly simply replied, "I'm sure your warriors would make admirable mentors, Tigerstar. But these kits have grown up in ThunderClan their entire lives, and to uproot them now would be cruel at best. They will stay in ThunderClan with their mother, and my warriors will give them the best possible training they could receive."

"Not that it's any of _your _business," Fireheart couldn't resist adding under his breath. Atop the Great Rock, Tigerstar's ears twitched, but he gave no other indication that he'd heard what Fireheart had said.

Tigerstar swept his gaze over the clearing. "The ThunderClan leader tells me how well my kits will be trained under her guidance, but I admit that I am not confident in your warriors' abilities to mentor them. After all, Bluestar, _certain _warriors of yours have made poor mentors in the past."

Fireheart felt his neck fur bristle with fury at the ShadowClan leader's comment. Although Tigerstar hadn't mentioned any names, anyone in ThunderClan would know that he was referring to him. He was pleased to see that Bluestar hadn't taken kindly to Tigerstar's remark and was giving the dark tabby a cold stare.

"I have given your kits to Fireheart and Sandstorm to mentor," she meowed in a tone that invited no argument. "And I'm certain they will perform their duties admirably. Furthermore, Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw are not the concern of ShadowClan. Their parents were both ThunderClan warriors when they were born; they are still ThunderClan kits now. I will not discuss this matter any further with you. You will simply have to settle for seeing your kits at Gatherings."

Tigerstar dipped his head, evidently realizing that arguing with Bluestar was useless. Fireheart, however, heard Blackfoot mutter from a few tail-lengths away, "I feel sorry for whichever one got stuck with Fireheart as their mentor. I'll bet he teaches them to be as soft as kittypets."

That was too much for Fireheart to handle. Forgetting all about the truce, he whipped his head around and snarled, "I wouldn't talk so much if I were in your place, you pathetic waste of fresh-kill. What about any apprentices _you _mentor? I suppose you've been teaching them to be kit-murdering rogues, are you?"

Gasps of shock and anger rose from the surrounding cats, though Fireheart noticed that they came mostly from ShadowClan. The ThunderClan, WindClan, and even a couple of RiverClan warriors, however, were all murmuring as though they at least partially agreed with him.

Blackfoot curled his lip, but a yowl of "Enough!" from Bluestar stopped the ShadowClan deputy from saying anything else.

"You would do well to control your deputy, Bluestar," Tigerstar sneered, only for the blue-gray queen to glare at him with such force that he actually took a step backward.

"_Your_ deputy provoked this fight," she meowed coldly. "I would ask _you _to teach your warriors to keep their mouths shut about what goes on in my Clan. Now, if there's nothing else you need to say, I will speak next."

Turning her attention away from Tigerstar, she continued, "ThunderClan has been doing well this past moon. As you have already heard, two of our kits have been made into apprentices. One of our warriors, Darkstripe, is dead, but we have recently given four new warriors their names. They are all here today, and their names are Brightheart, Cloudtail, Swiftshade, and Thornclaw."

Cheers for the new warriors rose from all four Clans. Fireheart spotted Cloudtail sitting with his head raised proudly, his flank pressed up against Brightheart's. He purred to himself in amusement at his nephew's blatant fondness for the ginger and white molly.

Great, now he was starting to think like Bluestar.

The rest of the Gathering passed without much incident. Tallstar delivered news about a new litter of kits that had been born, and Leopardstar announced Stormpaw and Featherpaw's apprenticeship. Fireheart noticed Bluestar's eyes flash with pride when she learned that her kits were mentors, but no one else seemed to realize anything was amiss.

After the meeting was over, Fireheart dipped his head in a farewell to Stonefur before leaving to catch up with Bluestar. When he approached her, he expected her to rebuke him for arguing with Blackfoot, but all she did was tap him gently on the shoulder with her tail. Nevertheless, he still felt guilty, knowing that he had broken the truce.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I know I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."

"It's not your fault," Bluestar meowed soothingly. "I wanted to claw his fur off too, believe me. Yes, it would have been better not to say anything, but I don't fault you for that."

"Thanks, Bluestar," Fireheart meowed quietly, and she licked his forehead. Eager to change the subject, he added, "So, Mistyfoot and Stonefur are mentoring Featherpaw and Stormpaw, huh? Well, as arrogant and unbearable as Leopardstar might be, at least she knows a good mentor when she sees one."

"Indeed," Bluestar meowed, her eyes gleaming with pride for her kits and amusement at her deputy's outspoken dislike for the RiverClan leader.

Fireheart nodded, and Bluestar snorted airily.

"Go find Sandstorm," she meowed. "I expect she'll want her favorite tom to walk with her."

"Wha–hey, you–I–" Fireheart spluttered, causing his leader's eyes to glow with mischief.

"Don't be shy, we can all see it," she purred.

"Why. Why do you do this to me," Fireheart deadpanned; unfortunately, this only seemed to amuse her further.

"I'm sure your kits will be adorable," Bluestar teased him. "Especially since you still have a kit face yourself."

"I do _not _have a kit face!"

"Sure, Fireheart. Keep telling yourself that."

"Bluestar, how could you? Making a mockery out of me for my kit face. I didn't know you were like that. Now you've taken away my dignity and I can no longer be a father."

They continued their banter for a while, and eventually, Fireheart moved away to go walk with Sandstorm. The ginger molly purred when he stepped in beside her, pressing herself against his flank. Despite everything that had happened that evening, Fireheart decided, overall, it had been a decent night.


	18. Bonding

**Before I get started, I just want to be clear that I've changed a little bit of Fireheart's past as a kittypet. More specifically, I've given him a new friend. This will become important later in the story, so don't worry.**

* * *

Bluestar led the dawn patrol toward Fourtrees, enjoying the feeling of the cool morning mist on her fur. Beside her, Fireheart padded alongside the ThunderClan leader, his tail flicking occasionally and his eyes surveying the territory. She had been a bit skeptical about allowing him to come, knowing that his injury still wasn't fully healed yet and wouldn't be for some time, but he had insisted on accompanying her. In the end, she had relented on the promise that he would leave if a confrontation with an enemy patrol were to occur.

"It's a nice day, isn't it?" Sandstorm meowed from Fireheart's other side. Bluestar suspected that the pale ginger molly would be moving into the nursery within a couple of moons, if not sooner. She hardly ever spent a moment away from the deputy's side these days.

"It is," Fireheart murmured. "Mornings were always my favorite time of day, even when I was a kittypet. I like a little peace and quiet every now and then."

Bluestar couldn't help but laugh at that. "Peace and quiet? You are the physical embodiment of loud and obnoxious."

Fireheart, being the mature, sensible deputy that he was, stuck his tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes and flicked him on the shoulder with her tail. He gave her a halfhearted glare, but softened up almost immediately and began chuckling reluctantly.

"I suppose I can be," the ginger tom admitted sheepishly.

"You know," Sandstorm spoke up again. "I just realized something. We've all known you for moons, Fireheart, but none of us really know what your kithood was like."

That was true, Bluestar reflected. Of course, they knew that Fireheart had spent his days as a kit living in Twolegplace, but that was common knowledge across all four Clans. She also knew that he'd been best friends with a black and white tom named Smudge and that he used to stare out into the forest as a kittypet, but that was as far as her knowledge went. Fireheart never seemed particularly inclined to talk about his kittypet days–as well he wouldn't, considering how much abuse he used to receive over his heritage.

"I mean, it's not as if anything exciting happened other than joining ThunderClan," the flame-colored warrior meowed. "Being a kittypet isn't exactly the most adventurous lifestyle there is, you know."

"Oh, I know," Sandstorm meowed. "But I want to know other things too."

"Such as?"

"Your friends," the pale ginger queen prompted. "What sort of games you played. Your family, what it was like living with Twolegs, all of it."

As the patrol continued toward Fourtrees, Bluestar contented herself with listening to her apprentice's childhood tales. It turned out that he'd had quite the adventurous spirit even as a young kitten, which didn't come as much of a surprise considering what she knew about him. She found herself laughing at several of his stories, especially one concerning an incident in which he'd killed a goldfish living in his Twolegs' nest.

"Oh, they were angry, alright," Fireheart chuckled, a distant look of amusement in his emerald-colored eyes. "I was just taking a bite of that fish when they walked in on me. Honestly, you should have been there. I don't think I'd ever heard a Twoleg make a noise like that before."

"How did the fish taste?" Bluestar asked.

"Admittedly, much better than the slop they usually fed me, but I think I'll stick to land prey," he replied, pulling a face. "They got a new fish later, but they put something on the tank so that I couldn't kill that one too. Not that it made much of a difference anyway, because one day I accidentally knocked over the tank and broke it, so the new fish died too."

Sandstorm burst out laughing at Fireheart's story and Bluestar chuckled as well, amused at the mental image of her apprentice as a pudgy kittypet, looking lost and confused as his Twolegs' new fish took its last breaths. The deputy flicked his tail, his ears flat with embarrassment.

"For the record. Yes, I am sorry," he meowed, which only caused them to laugh harder.

Once they had finally calmed down, Sandstorm meowed, "So, what about your family? What were they like? I know your sister, Princess, but did you have any other siblings?"

"I did, but I can't seem to remember their names," Fireheart mused. "And they were alright from what I know, but then again, I didn't get to know them for very long. We were all taken from our mother when we were a moon old."

"_What?_" Bluestar couldn't believe what she was hearing. Were Twolegs really so cruel? Even in the harsh conditions of the forest, she couldn't imagine forcing a mother and her kits to separate. "Are you serious? Why would they do that?"

"It's actually normal for kittypets," the deputy explained. "After a moon, most kits don't need their mother's milk and can start taking other foods. Once a kitten reaches one month of age, the mother's housefolk will give them away to another Twoleg nest."

Bluestar felt her fur bristle with indignation, livid at the thought that Fireheart had been treated as nothing more than some pathetic Twoleg toy. She knew how devastating it was to lose kits. Maybe kittypets weren't as privileged as she, like many other forest cats, had believed.

"Did you ever get to see her again?" Sandstorm asked, her green eyes filled with sympathy.

"No," Fireheart meowed, and Bluestar felt a pang at the sorrow in his gaze. "But the last I heard, she was still doing fine. My sister still sees her on occasion."

"Well, that's good," the pale ginger molly meowed. "So who were your friends?"

"Well, my only real friend was a cat named Smudge," Fireheart answered. "The other kittypets didn't like me too much, I guess because I never wanted to play games with them. Or maybe it was because I spent almost all my time sitting on the fence. I don't think I'll ever know for sure."

So that meant that Fireheart had been forced to deal with quite a bit of bullying even as a kittypet, Bluestar mused to herself. It was a wonder he had turned out so well, all things considered. Almost instinctively, she draped her tail around her former apprentice's shoulder and heard him purr at the gesture.

"There was another friend, a queen a few seasons older than I was that I got along with, but I didn't get to know her very long before she died," Fireheart added, his eyes flashing with pain.

"What happened to her?" Bluestar asked sympathetically.

"She was sick," her deputy answered. "I don't know for sure what was wrong with her. All I know is that one day, her Twolegs started making pretty frequent trips to the vet. Or the Cutter, if you want to use the common term. She died when I was three moons old. And...again, I'm not sure...but I think she was expecting kits at the time."

"No!" Sandstorm exclaimed. "Are you sure?"

"Again, I don't know for sure," Fireheart admitted. "She hadn't started showing yet...but she had that look about her, know what I'm saying?"

Bluestar did know. Queens were beautiful when they were pregnant with kits.

"But before she died, she used to tell me stories," the flame-colored cat meowed, his eyes lighting up. "Of course, she told me all the typical kittypet stories about wild cats who sharpened their teeth on the bones of other cats, but there were others too. I think one of my favorites was the story of a wild cat who came to live in Twolegplace."

With a start, Bluestar realized that she knew exactly who her deputy was talking about. The ThunderClan leader before her predecessor, Sunstar, was a cat named Pinestar. He had served ThunderClan for eight lives but had chosen to spend his ninth living in Twolegplace. Coincidentally, that had also been the incident that prompted an addition to the warrior code, that all true warriors should scorn the easy life of a kittypet.

"I can't remember his name for the life of me, but I heard that he was friends with my father," Fireheart continued. "Actually, from what I hear, my father made friends with a couple of wild cats. He used to tell the other kittypets stories about one of them, a cat named Talltail."

_Tallstar! _Bluestar's eyes widened at the mention of her fellow Clan leader's warrior name. He had been friends with her deputy's father. No wonder he had agreed to let Barkface treat Fireheart even after she led an attack on his camp. He must have known somehow that Fireheart was the son of his old friend.

"Actually, that reminds me of something," Fireheart meowed, turning to face her. "I never got the chance to ask, but how did you know my name the first time we spoke in Twolegplace?"

Bluestar blinked, surprised that he could remember such a small detail. "I'd been watching you for some time," she answered. "And I'd heard some of the conversations between you and that fat friend of yours. You two certainly didn't make an effort to be quiet."

"Hey, we didn't need to," Fireheart protested. "Who would want to listen in on a few kittypets anyway? Seems kind of strange if you ask me."

"Are you calling me strange?" Bluestar demanded.

"I'm not calling you normal."

Bluestar growled playfully. "You're lucky you still have an adorable little kit face."

"Again with my kit face!" Fireheart exclaimed as Sandstorm snickered. "For the last time, I do _not _have a kit face! I look just like any normal cat my age."

"Oh...so you're a kit, then?" Bluestar asked, plastering a look of mock confusion on her face.

"_Bluestar!_" Fireheart yelled, causing Sandstorm to laugh even harder.

For the rest of the morning, the three warriors alternated between sharing childhood stories and poking fun at Fireheart. Of course, though she loved hearing Fireheart's stories, Bluestar mostly enjoyed teasing him just to be able to see his reaction. Although he had been trying his best to shed the image, in those moments, it was easy to see that he was still very much the same adorable, easily flustered kit from all those seasons ago.


	19. Apprentice Talk and Longtail's Discovery

Fireheart padded through the camp entrance with Bramblepaw on his tail. The two of them were both carrying a small amount of fresh-kill, the result of a late morning hunting practice. Finding prey had been difficult, given that leaf-bare would soon be on its way, but the young tabby was proving to be a skillful hunter. There was no denying that Bramblepaw had inherited his father's skills.

_Imagine what a fighter he'll make!_ Fireheart thought, his pelt prickling eagerly at the thought of getting to see his apprentice's battling skills.

"Place your fresh-kill in the pile and take something to Cinderpelt in her den," he ordered the young apprentice. "And once you're done with that, I want you to fetch fresh bedding for the elders."

"Okay, Fireheart," Bramblepaw meowed, racing off towards the fresh-kill pile. He deposited his supply, keeping a plump thrush that he carried off in the direction of the medicine den.

Satisfied that Bramblepaw had his duties under control, Fireheart placed his own supply in the prey pile, then picked up a mouse to take over to Sandstorm, who was waiting for him near the nettle bush. Whitestorm and Bluestar were there as well, and Fireheart felt both pleased to see his leader and chagrined at the thought of the teasing that was sure to come. What was it with her and being so involved with his relationship with Sandstorm anyway?

"Hello, Fireheart," Bluestar meowed as he joined their little group.

"Hello," he meowed, dipping his head to her. Sandstorm purred and entwined her tail with his, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by either Whitestorm or Bluestar, judging by the amused looks on their faces. _Oh great, now I've got Whitestorm to deal with too. Life just isn't fair. _

"I see you took Bramblepaw hunting," the blue-gray queen meowed. "How are his skills coming along?"

"Prey was poor, but he did well, all things considered," Fireheart replied honestly, feeling a glow of pride in his apprentice. "He's definitely eager to learn–though thankfully better at listening to orders than Cinderpelt or Cloudtail."

"Yes, you do seem to have a history of troublesome apprentices, don't you?" Bluestar noted, her blue eyes sparkling with a mixture of amusement and sympathy. "Never mind that, though. Sandstorm tells me that Tawnypaw's turning into a fine warrior as well. It sounds as if you two are making good progress with them, then."

Fireheart nodded, but Sandstorm meowed, "They are, but sometimes I worry about what sort of impact being Tigerstar's kits will have on them."

Bluestar and Whitestorm looked at her in surprise, and she meowed quickly, "Not because I think they're going to turn out like him, of course. But some of the Clan clearly don't like them because of who their father is, and he's made his interest in having his kits with him clear–and they were there at the Gathering when he announced it, so they know that they'd be welcomed there. ThunderClan would lose two great warriors if they left, but if their own Clanmates resent them, I don't see them wanting to stay for long."

"I see," Bluestar meowed. "Fireheart? What do you think?"

Fireheart hesitated for a moment. "I've already told you that I know some of their Clanmates haven't made an effort to make them feel wanted," he answered, and she nodded. "At the moment, neither of them seem the slightest bit interested in joining Tigerstar, but I can see how that might change if the Clan's hostility towards them continues much longer. But the problem is, we can't just force anyone to accept them. I guess, for now, the only thing we can really do is remind them that they're still valuable members. Even if not everyone wants to see it."

"Very well," his former mentor meowed. "If there's any trouble, feel free to let me know."

"We will, Bluestar. Thank you," Sandstorm replied.

As the pale ginger molly struck up a conversation with Whitestorm, Fireheart turned his head to watch as Bramblepaw came traipsing through the gorse tunnel, a wad of moss clutched underneath his chin. The tabby was the carbon copy of his father, he noted, and he had certainly inherited his talent, but that was as far as the similarities went. In terms of personality, Bramblepaw was much more like his mother, Goldenflower. All it took was one look at the young tom to make this realization.

Knowing this, Fireheart couldn't understand why some of the Clan refused to see him as anything more than Tigerstar's kit. Granted, he was being hypocritical in thinking that since he'd struggled to trust Bramblepaw for moons, but he had learned the error of his ways. However, some of Bramblepaw's own kin still resented him for something he had no control over. Smallear was Goldenflower's father, Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw's grandfather, and he was one of their biggest antagonists.

"Fireheart?" Bluestar meowed, interrupting the ginger tom's thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry Bluestar," Fireheart apologized, shaking his head to clear his mind. "Were you saying something?"

"No," the old molly answered. "But is there something wrong? You're making some strange faces."

"Oh...just thinking, I guess," he replied evasively. Eager to change the subject, he added, "So anyway, who wants to hear about the time I nearly drowned myself as a kit?"

Whitestorm and Sandstorm looked horrified, while Bluestar shook her head and meowed, "Only you, Fireheart. Go ahead, then. Tell us what happened."

So Fireheart proceeded to tell his Clanmates about the time he had gotten the idea, as a two-moon-old kit, to jump into the pool in his Twolegs' backyard. Somehow, the fact that he didn't know how to swim had failed to cross his mind. Fortunately, the female Twoleg had been nearby and was able to rescue him, but he had spent a few terrifying moments flailing about in the water, certain he had met his doom.

Of course, the others found his story hilarious.

"I'm glad you enjoy my suffering," Fireheart meowed, pretending to sulk. Bluestar and Sandstorm patted him sympathetically with their tails.

"Cheer up," the blue-gray molly meowed. "At least you didn't get attacked by a piece of fresh-kill as a kit."

"There's a story there, I'm sure."

"Perhaps there is, but I'm bound by StarClan never to repeat it."

"Oh well, of course," Fireheart agreed, swiping his tongue over his muzzle. "How fortunate you are, Bluestar, being able to escape the humiliation of the more tragic encounters of your youth via your obligation to bend to the divine will of our ancestors."

"You had that sentence rehearsed, didn't you?" Bluestar asked.

"Nope!" he meowed cheerfully. "I just came up with it now. Do you believe that?"

"No," she told him flatly, and he pretended to pout at her refusal to believe him.

They continued bantering on and off for some time, with Whitestorm and Sandstorm interjecting the occasional quip themselves. Fireheart noticed the pale ginger queen giving an occasional glance to the nursery and was thankful when Bluestar only gave him a knowing smirk when she saw. He wondered why Sandstorm was looking at the nursery so often and vowed to ask her about it later.

Suddenly, Longtail came bursting through the camp entrance. Fireheart's fur stood on end as the pale tabby raced over to them. His flanks were heaving and his eyes had a look of fear to them. What had happened?

"What's wrong, Longtail?" Bluestar asked, her voice sounding worried. "What happened?"

"You've got to come quick, Bluestar," Longtail meowed desperately. "Tigerstar's been feeding a pack of dogs at Snakerocks!"

* * *

**Hahahahahaha cliffhanger! Sorry, I'm being evil. **

**So the dog plot is finally here! I've got a plan for how I'm going to handle the whole "lead the dogs to the gorge" idea since Fireheart's still recovering from his injury. No spoilers, though. **

**Also Sandstorm...interested in the nursery? Maybe there are a few more babies coming soon...or maybe she's just interested in having kits one day. You'll have to wait and see. :) **

**Thanks for reading! **

**-TheShadowedWarrior**


	20. Pack, Pack

Bluestar leaped to her paws. "Tell me everything you know," she ordered.

"I was out hunting earlier," Longtail began. "I spotted Tigerstar at Snakerocks, and I wondered why he would be here since he doesn't really have any reason to talk to you and his only friend in ThunderClan is dead. Well, I found out." He shuddered.

"Go on," she prompted. "What did he do?"

"You know the caves?" the pale tabby meowed. "I was just coming up to them when I saw Tigerstar, but he didn't see me. I thought he was stealing prey at first because he was dragging a dead rabbit along, but then he just left on the ground outside the cave entrance." He broke off, his eyes clouding with terror at something unseen by the rest of the cats.

"And then?" Fireheart asked.

"Then this...this _creature _appeared out of the cave. I swear it was the biggest dog I've ever seen. Forget the stupid things that come with Twolegs. This was _huge. _I only saw its front paws and its head...enormous, slavering jaws, and you've never seen such teeth." Longtail's eyes were wide with the memory of fear.

"It snatched the rabbit and dragged it into the cave," he continued. "And then the howling and barking started. It sounded as if there were more dogs in there, all fighting over the rabbit. It was hard to understand what they were saying, but I think they were calling out, 'Pack, pack' and 'Kill, kill'."

Beside Bluestar, Fireheart stiffened with terror. "That's what–Cinderpelt–she told me–"

"Told you what?" Longtail asked, though without the usual aggression he showed towards the deputy.

Fireheart's fur bristled, and Bluestar could see that he was struggling to keep calm. "A couple of moons ago, Cinderpelt told me a dream in which she heard the words, 'Pack, pack' and 'Kill, kill'," he explained. "But we could never figure out what it meant until now..."

Sandstorm let out a mew of distress and pressed her flank against Fireheart, who turned and licked her cheek. For once, however, Bluestar didn't stop to tease her former apprentice about his relationship with the ginger queen. Instead, her mind was whirling as she tried to make sense of what Longtail had told just told them. One dog running loose in the forest was already almost unheard of, but an entire pack of them? How could such evil have been unleashed?

"And you say Tigerstar _fed _these dogs?" Fireheart questioned. "What does he think he's doing?"

"I don't know," Longtail admitted. "When he dropped the rabbit, he jumped on top of the rock. I don't think the first dog saw him. Then, he went away."

"You didn't speak to him?" Bluestar asked, finally gathering herself.

"_No, _Bluestar, I didn't. I'll swear it on anything you like. By StarClan, by the honor of ThunderClan. I have no idea what Tigerstar's up to."

"It's alright," she meowed with more calmness than she felt. "I believe you."

If there was any doubt that Tigerstar still harbored a grudge against his former Clan, Longtail's discovery had shattered it. However, Bluestar realized that things were far more complicated than even she had believed. It seemed obvious that he was somehow linked to the pack of dogs, but she couldn't fathom why he would be feeding them or what advantage he would gain by doing so. Dogs were the Clans' common enemy, after all, just like fire.

"What should we do now?" Fireheart asked her.

_Fireheart...he told me about the dogs, didn't he? And I didn't listen. Oh StarClan, what have I done? _

"Bluestar!" the ginger tom shouted, and she snapped back to attention.

"Huh? Oh, right," she meowed awkwardly. "We need to investigate. I don't know what Tigerstar thinks he's up to, but I intend to find out."

"Should we go now?" Fireheart asked, looking relieved to see his Clan leader taking charge.

Bluestar glanced up at the sky, which was beginning to turn crimson as the sun dipped down below the horizon. "Not today," she decided. "It would be dark by the time we got to Snakerocks. But first thing tomorrow morning, we're taking a patrol to Snakerocks."

"I'll come," Longtail offered. "You'll need me to show you where I spotted Tigerstar anyway."

"And me," Whitestorm added.

"Count me in," Sandstorm meowed.

Bluestar nodded, then stiffened slightly as Fireheart meowed, "And I'll come too. That should be enough, I think?"

"Fireheart, I–" she began, but he cut her off.

"I know you don't want me coming," he meowed. "And I know that you worry about me. But please try not to think too much about what _might _happen."

She shook her head. "I can't just..."

"_Try,_" Fireheart meowed fiercely. "You've done plenty for me–spent every night with me while I was in my coma, practically confined me to the camp, banned me from border patrols, killed Darkstripe when he tried to poison me, and who knows what else you might have done? Let me help you for a change."

"But..." Bluestar began, then broke off and shook her head. Here was this fiercely loyal, brave young tom whom she'd practically raised as a son, and all she wanted to do was continue confining him to the camp and killing off traitors if it meant no one would lay their claws on him again. But she knew he didn't want her to, and the knowledge both frustrated her and caused her respect for him to increase tenfold.

"Very well," she meowed finally. "But do be careful, won't you?"

Fireheart dipped his head to her, relief shining in his emerald eyes. "Of course."

"Get some sleep, all of you," she ordered, sweeping her gaze around at the rest of her warriors. "And then at dawn, we'll leave for Snakerocks."

Sandstorm, Longtail, and Whitestorm nodded to her and turned towards the warriors' den. Fireheart paused to give her one last glance, the expression in his green eyes unreadable before he too followed his Clanmates into their sleeping quarters. Bluestar watched them go, a lingering feeling of foreboding in the pit of her stomach.

_What if I've condemned them all to death? _

* * *

The following morning, Bluestar led the patrol to Snakerocks with Fireheart at the rear, keeping a watchful eye out for any danger. Not that there was any need, as every cat on the patrol was on high alert for an attack. The knowledge that there was something so evil lurking in the heart of ThunderClan territory was causing a great deal of paranoia. There was a strong scent of a rabbit, but no one seemed to be in the mood to hunt.

All was quiet until they reached Snakerocks. Bluestar was just considering the best way to approach the caves when she heard Sandstorm meow, "What's that?"

She plunged into a clump of dead bracken. A moment later, Bluestar heard her voice again, hoarse with shock and fear. "Come and look at this."

Bluestar padded after Sandstorm, with the rest of the patrol following close behind, and found Sandstorm crouching over a dead rabbit. Its throat had been torn out and its fur was stiff with dried blood.

"The pack has been killing again," Longtail meowed grimly.

"But then why didn't they...?" Fireheart broke off and shook his head, moving forward to sniff at the rabbit. At once, his head snapped up. "Bluestar, come! There's ShadowClan scent here!"

Bluestar opened her mouth and drew in the forest breeze over the glands in the roof of his mouth. Her deputy was right. The scent was faint but unmistakable. "Tigerstar killed this rabbit," she murmured. "What for, I wonder?"

She remembered Longtail telling her how he had witnessed Tigerstar feeding the dogs, as well as the strong reek of rabbit that had followed them all the way back to the camp. Backing away from the prey, she summoned Fireheart with a flick of her tail. "Go back the way we came," she ordered. "Look for dead rabbits. If you see any or you find any other scents, come back and tell me. Whitestorm, you go with him."

Fireheart and Whitestorm nodded and bounded back in the direction of the ThunderClan camp. Bluestar watched them go for a moment, then turned to Sandstorm and Longtail. "Sandstorm, guard this rabbit. Longtail, come with me."

Even more cautiously now, pausing to taste the air every few steps, Bluestar drew closer to Snakerocks. It wasn't long before they discovered another dead rabbit, lying exposed on top of a rock with the same scent of Tigerstar lingering around it. By this time, they were in sight of the mouth of the cave. Bluestar could just make out the faint outline of another rabbit, lying just outside the entrance. There was no sign of the pack.

"Where are the dogs?" she murmured.

"In that cave," Longtail meowed. "That's where I saw the dog yesterday."

"When they come out, they'll see the rabbit over there and smell this one," Bluestar meowed slowly. "And then they'll..."

She froze.

A rabbit.

A pack of hungry, savage dogs, all fighting over a piece of prey.

More rabbits, their throats all torn out, the scent of blood lingering in the air.

And the stench of the dead rabbits, following them all the way back to the camp...

_Oh, StarClan, no... _

"I _know_ what Fireheart and Whitestorm will find," she exclaimed, turning around and racing back the way they'd come. "Come on. We have to catch up with them!"

The ThunderClan leader raced through the trees, panic lending her energy. Out of every possibility as to what Tigerstar had been planning that had gone through her mind, this hadn't even come close to being one of them. She realized that her enemy was more cunning than she had given him credit for–or rather, that his hatred of ThunderClan ran deeper than she had imagined. Leading rogues to attack his own Clan and create a diversion in order to kill her? Anyone could do that. Using _dogs _to attack an entire Clan was something that would have to take moons of meticulous planning, for even one mistake would have resulted in Tigerstar being torn to shreds.

A screech came from the direction of the ravine. At the sound, Bluestar sped up even further, her paws working furiously and her lungs feeling ready to burst. With Longtail and Sandstorm hot on her heels, she made her way down the ravine, stopping dead at the sight in front of her.

Fireheart was being supported by Brindleface and Whitestorm, his flanks heaving and blood dripping from several new wounds, as well as multiple reopened ones. Brindleface and Whitestorm were sporting their fair share of injuries as well, although they didn't seem to be in as bad of a state.

"What happened here?" Bluestar demanded, feeling her pelt prickle with horror.

"Fireheart and Whitestorm saved my life," Brindleface explained quietly. "I was hunting when Tigerstar jumped at me. He was just about to kill me when Fireheart showed up and managed to get him off me. He and Whitestorm fought him off and he ran away."

Sandstorm raced over to Fireheart and began licking his wounds furiously. "You absolute mouse-brain!" she scolded him, fear shining in her green eyes. "What did you think you were doing? Do you _have _to put yourself in danger all the time?"

Fireheart winced, his own emerald-colored eyes glittering with pain. "Is that a rhetorical question, or...?"

Sandstorm whacked him with her tail. Bluestar padded forward and gently pressed her nose into the fur of the cat who might as well have been her own son in all but blood.

"I told you to be careful," she whispered.

"I'm alive, aren't I?" Fireheart grunted. "And I think we figured out what Tigerstar wants with the pack. He's trying to lead them back to the camp, isn't he? That's why we were smelling the rabbits all the way to Snakerocks...and that must be why he tried to kill Brindleface too. He wanted them to get a taste for cat blood."

Sometimes, Bluestar thought her deputy was too insightful for his own good. This was not one of those times.

"That's right," she confirmed. "Come on, we need to get back home and tell the rest of the Clan what happened. Whitestorm, Sandstorm, will you be able to help Fireheart get back?"

"There's no need," Fireheart protested. "It's not that far, but you need to get back as soon as possible and I'll just slow you down. Go on, I'll be able to get back myself."

But as soon as the words left his mouth, his legs gave out and he almost collapsed until Sandstorm managed to catch him, giving him her shoulder to lean on. Fireheart's flanks heaved as he let out a wheeze of exhaustion and pain, his eyes glittering with frustration.

"Well, alright then," he acquiesced.

Bluestar nodded and bounded in the direction of the camp, glancing behind herself every so often to make sure that Fireheart, Sandstorm, and Whitestorm were still keeping up. Her former apprentice's flanks were still bleeding profusely, and she knew they would need to get him to Cinderpelt soon.

"I'm so sorry," Brindleface meowed, racing alongside her. "I didn't mean for this to happen to him..."

"It's not your fault," Bluestar grunted. "But we don't have time to worry about it now. ThunderClan is in danger and we need to let the rest of the Clan know."

_Oh, StarClan, _she thought as the gorse tunnel began to draw closer. _What have we done to deserve this? _


	21. By StarClan's Will

Cinderpelt was furious when Fireheart returned to the camp.

"Don't aggravate your wounds, I told you. Don't get into any fights, I told you. What do you do? You get into a battle with _Tigerstar_, of all cats! I'm amazed you even survived!" the gray medicine cat raged. Fireheart wondered if she'd picked up a few of Yellowfang's characteristics.

"Cinderpelt," Brindleface meowed softly. "Fireheart saved my life."

"That's all very well," Cinderpelt replied, still glaring at her former mentor. "But that doesn't change the fact that he's a complete idiot. Honestly, Fireheart, sometimes I think you have a death wish."

"Only sometimes," Fireheart grunted, hoping for a chuckle. All he got was a scowl. "Alright, alright. I get it. Not funny."

His former apprentice sighed and started applying cobwebs and herbs to his wounds. He winced as the juices stung his flank, but willed himself not to protest. After all, it _was _his own fault that he was in this situation in the first place; he recognized that if nothing else.

"So, what _were _you doing anyway?" Cinderpelt asked, pressing another cobweb onto a cut on his back left leg.

"Oh, that," Fireheart meowed. "Well, we found out what the 'pack' is."

At once, Cinderpelt was alert, her blue eyes trained on him as she continued treating his wounds. He took a moment to admire her ability to perform two tasks at once before continuing his report.

"Tigerstar's been feeding a pack of dogs at Snakerocks," he meowed, watching as Cinderpelt's eyes widened in horror. "He's laid a trail of them straight back to camp."

"Fireheart and Whitestorm were tracking the trail when they found him attacking Brindleface," Sandstorm, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up from where she was licking her mother's flank. "We think he wanted to kill her so he could give the pack a taste for cat blood. Fortunately–or rather, unfortunately for him–Fireheart here is a noble idiot and jumped in to save her."

Fireheart glared halfheartedly at his mate. "Hey, _you _were there too," he reminded her.

"I didn't fight, though. And I'm not the one recovering from a life-threatening wound," Sandstorm reminded him sternly. Fireheart opened his mouth to protest, then closed it in frustration. "That's what I thought."

A few heartbeats later, Fernpaw, Ashpaw, and Cloudtail came racing into the medicine den, followed closely by Bluestar. Brindleface purred at the sight of her younger kits, who all came up to her and nuzzled her affectionately. The ThunderClan leader, meanwhile, padded over to Fireheart, her icy blue eyes filled with concern.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not unconscious again, so I suppose that's a good thing," Fireheart meowed, half-joking. Bluestar rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for saving our mother, Fireheart," Fernpaw meowed, turning his attention towards her. Her green eyes were shining with relief and gratitude.

"Yes, thank you," Cloudtail and Ashpaw echoed. Fireheart's nephew's eyes were filled with gratitude as well, something he didn't see often from the headstrong young warrior.

"Don't mention it," Fireheart meowed. "Anyway," he added, turning to face Bluestar again, "what's the plan for dealing with the dogs?"

"Actually, I was going to ask for your help with that," the blue-gray queen replied. "However"–her blue eyes narrowed–"you will not be taking part in the plan, whatever it ends up being. Is that clear?"

Fireheart had been expecting that and merely nodded. Then he frowned as another thought occurred to him. "What about you? Are you going to take part in it?"

Bluestar hesitated for a moment. "I had planned on it, yes–"

"Please don't," he interrupted. Her eyes flashed, and he immediately added, "I'm sorry. But what if you die?"

He lowered his voice so that only she could hear him and added, "Don't forget that this is your last life. If you lose it, I can't take over the leadership now. I'm still recovering from my wounds. If Cinderpelt has her way, I won't be allowed to perform _any _of my duties for at least a moon."

Bluestar gazed at him for a few heartbeats, several emotions flashing through her eyes. Finally, she meowed, "Very well. I'll stay back."

Fireheart breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Right," his leader meowed. "Now, let's move on to the plan, shall we?"

"Yes," Fireheart agreed, narrowing his eyes as he tried to analyze the situation in front of them. "Well, I think we can rule out trying to fight the dogs. Even the most skilled warriors have trouble against Twolegs' dogs, and if these really are as big as Longtail said, we'll all be slaughtered before we can say 'mouse'. Dogs aren't very good climbers, but the elders and kits would never make it up a tree. We could try moving the Clan to Sunningrocks, but even then, the pack would still be able to hunt us down."

"Taking them to Sunningrocks would be a good start, though," Bluestar meowed. "If we leave soon, we'll be able to get there before the pack can reach us."

"Yes, but then we have to figure out how to get rid of the pack," Fireheart pointed out.

He curled his lip, trying to formulate a reasonable plan in his mind. Climbing trees and fighting the dogs head-on would never work, but what other options did that leave? Some of the Clan were certainly fast enough to outrun a pack of dogs, but they couldn't very well run forever. No matter where they ran, the dogs would eventually catch them. Unless...

Fireheart's eyes widened as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "The gorge!" he exclaimed aloud.

"What about it?" Bluestar asked, frowning.

"What if we had our fastest warriors lure the dogs over the gorge?" he clarified. "If cats have drowned there, why not dogs?"

Bluestar looked thoughtful. "That might work," she agreed. "Who do you suggest?"

Fireheart thought for a few heartbeats. "Longtail, Dustpelt, and Mousefur," he meowed finally. "Longtail was the one who discovered the pack, so he deserves to be part of this. And Dustpelt and Mousefur are two of our fastest warriors."

"Three warriors might not be enough," Sandstorm pointed out. "Why don't I go too?"

"But–" Fireheart started to protest, then broke off. He knew Sandstorm hated it when someone tried to protect her, but he couldn't stand the thought of her plunging into the icy, rapid-churning water in the gorge–or worse, being torn to shreds by vicious, savage dogs. "I..."

Sandstorm pressed her nose to his cheek. "I'll be fine," she promised.

Fireheart hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "I'll hold you to that."

She licked his cheek and he turned to face Bluestar again, who was gazing at him sympathetically. "Right," he meowed. "I think that's that, then. Should we tell the rest of the Clan?"

Bluestar nodded and padded out of the den. Fireheart struggled to his paws and followed after her, his weight being supported by Sandstorm and Cloudtail. As he entered the clearing, Bluestar leaped on top of the Highrock and gave the familiar call for the Clan to gather for a meeting.

"Cats of ThunderClan, we don't have much time," she began, once everyone had settled down beneath the Highrock. "There's no good way to say this, so I'll just give everything to you straight. Tigerstar has been feeding a pack of dogs at Snakerocks and plans to lure them to our camp. The trail has already been set, so the dogs will probably be on their way soon if they haven't started already."

Shocked and horrified yowls rose from the surrounding cats. The ThunderClan leader had to raise her voice to make herself heard over the commotion.

"Fireheart and I have devised a plan to deal with the pack," she went on. "Longtail, Mousefur, Dustpelt, and Sandstorm, you'll take turns leading the dogs to the gorge. The rest of us will go to Sunningrocks to wait."

"And what if the pack still hunts us down?" Smallear called out from the back of the clearing.

"We'll deal with that later," Bluestar replied. "Right now, we need to get moving. All of you take a piece of fresh-kill, but please do hurry. We don't want to waste too much time."

She leaped down from the Highrock, signaling that the meeting was over. At once, the rest of the Clan started making their way toward the fresh-kill pile, each of them taking a piece of prey and wolfing it down quickly. Fireheart watched them, not in the mood to eat. The knowledge that these next moments might be the last ones he ever had with Sandstorm had caused him to lose his appetite.

Fortunately, he was spared from thinking about it too much when Bramblepaw came bounding up to him, his amber eyes shining with worry. "Fireheart, are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine, Bramblepaw," Fireheart meowed, deciding not to tell his apprentice about the fight with Tigerstar. No need to burden his apprentice with the knowledge that his father had attacked his mentor. "Just had a bit of an unfortunate encounter."

"A bit of an unfortunate encounter, indeed," Bluestar meowed, padding over to join them. "As you do, Fireheart."

Fireheart pulled a face at his former mentor. "You know, Bluestar, I swear to StarClan if you weren't Clan leader..."

"But I am," she interrupted, with the faintest trace of smugness in her voice. "And as such, I'm afraid you're going to have to postpone whatever horrifying threats you have planned for me. Now, we're going to be leaving soon, so I suggest you get ready."

Fireheart nodded and walked over to the gorse tunnel with Bramblepaw, where the rest of the Clan were already waiting. The cats who would be leading the dogs to the gorge were standing separate from the rest of the group, each of them pawing at the ground anxiously. He approached Sandstorm, who was standing at the back of the line and touched his nose to her cheek.

"Good luck," he meowed.

"I'll be fine," she meowed softly. "You just make sure you take care of the rest of the Clan."

"You know I will," he murmured, finally tearing himself away from her and going to join Bluestar at the head of the cats who would be seeking refuge at Sunningrocks. She gently touched the tip of her tail to his leg, then turned to face the rest of her warriors.

"Are we all ready?" she asked. Several mews of agreement sounded from the Clan. "Good. Then we should go."

* * *

Fireheart sat at the edge of Sunningrocks, the tip of his tail twitching with anxiety. It was well into the evening now, and there was still no sign of Sandstorm or any of the other cats who had gone to take the dogs to the gorge. He tried to reassure himself that this was a good sign. Surely, he told himself, if the dogs had caught any of them, they would have found the rest of the Clan by now. Yet somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling of fear churning in his stomach.

"Are you alright?"

The ginger tom looked over to see Bluestar sitting next to him, her gaze filled with sympathy. At the look, Fireheart felt something inside of him deflate and he looked away.

"I don't know," he meowed. "I'm just..."

"I know you're worried about Sandstorm," his mentor meowed gently. "But she's a strong, capable young warrior. She'll make it out of this, Fireheart."

"By StarClan's will, I suppose?" he asked bitterly.

Bluestar sighed. "Don't tell me you've started–"

"I haven't," Fireheart interrupted, already knowing what she was going to say. "But I _am _starting to realize that perhaps StarClan isn't as powerful as we thought they were. We've all got to fight our own battles, so leaving anything up to their 'will' is just going to get us all killed in the end. If Sandstorm makes it out, it will be because she was fast enough to outrun the dogs, not because StarClan willed it or anything." His tone grew even more bitter as he added, "I just wish I could be there to help, but instead, I'm just stuck here."

"I know it's frustrating," Bluestar meowed soothingly. "But you can't always save everyone, Fireheart."

Fireheart let out a sigh and she licked his ears gently. Wearily, he rested his head on her shoulder, feeling rather like a kit being comforted by his mother. In any other instance, he would have been embarrassed, but he was too stressed out and worried to care right now.

Somewhere, he thought he could hear the very faint sounds of cats screeching and a vicious, rabid snarling, and he prayed that they were only figments of his imagination.


	22. Sacrifice

The sun was beginning to rise when Sandstorm, Dustpelt, and Mousefur appeared at Sunningrocks, all three of them looking bedraggled and sore.

"Sandstorm!" Fireheart meowed with relief. At his voice, the exhaustion left the pale ginger queen's eyes and she purred happily. "You made it back, then."

"Yes, of course, I did. Why? Did you think I wouldn't?" Sandstorm asked, narrowing her eyes playfully.

Fireheart backed up nervously. "N-no, of course not! I had complete faith in you!"

"Mouse-brain," Sandstorm purred, warmth shining in her green gaze.

"So the dogs have been taken care of?" Bluestar asked, padding over to join her warriors.

"Yes, Bluestar," Mousefur meowed, dipping her head to the ThunderClan leader.

Suddenly, Fireheart realized that Longtail was nowhere to be seen. Fear filling the pit of his stomach, he padded over to Mousefur. She had been the last to run before Longtail's leg, so she would know what had happened to the pale tabby warrior.

"Mousefur," he began slowly. "Where's Longtail?"

At his question, the dusky brown molly's eyes clouded with sadness. She bowed her head and murmured, "Longtail...Longtail didn't make it."

"No..." Fireheart whispered, feeling his heart sink in horror. "What–what happened?"

"Longtail was leading the dogs to the edge of the gorge when Tigerstar showed up," Mousefur began. "I didn't catch all of what was happening, but I arrived in time to hear him call Longtail a traitor before jumping off into some trees. That was when the dogs showed up. There wasn't enough time for him to get away, so he..."

"He didn't..._jump_, did he?" Fireheart asked hesitantly.

Mousefur nodded. "The lead dog jumped after him, so the rest of the pack ran away. Probably back to their Twolegs," she meowed bitterly. "I ran over to the gorge then to see if I could find him, but he was already gone. I don't know if he was swept downstream or what, but I couldn't find him."

Fireheart stepped back, feeling sick to his stomach. Longtail was dead; despite their nearly lifelong animosity, he would never have wished for him to die like this. Bluestar rested her tail-tip on his shoulder, her blue eyes gleaming with sorrow.

_This is all my fault, _Fireheart thought miserably. _If I hadn't come up with that plan..._

Fortunately, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wet pawsteps climbing the rocks. The flame-pelted warrior turned his head, momentarily freezing in surprise when he saw Mistyfoot and Stonefur approaching the Clan. His grief returned full force, however, when he spotted the motionless pale tabby pelt being carried with them, still wet from the river.

Bluestar padded forward to meet her kits. "Mistyfoot, Stonefur," she murmured.

"Bluestar," Stonefur meowed, dipping his head to her. Fireheart saw his leader's eyes flash with pain. He deposited Longtail's body in front of her.

"How did you find him?" Fireheart asked, stepping forward now.

Stonefur turned his blue gaze onto him. "We were out on patrol when we saw him being carried down the river," the RiverClan deputy meowed. "Mistyfoot helped to fish him out, and then we took him to our medicine cat for treatment. But it was too late and he died."

_He was still alive..._

Mistyfoot's mew snapped Fireheart out of his thoughts again. "He told us...to give you and Fireheart a message, Bluestar," the RiverClan queen meowed quietly. "He said he was sorry for following Tigerclaw–Tigerstar–and Darkstripe so blindly. That he was sorry he couldn't be a loyal warrior...and that he hoped that his torment of you, Fireheart, wouldn't cause you to remember him too unkindly."

Fireheart lowered his gaze, feeling ashamed despite himself. "I...thank you," he meowed. "For bringing his body back."

The two RiverClan warriors dipped their heads to Fireheart and Bluestar, their eyes soft with sympathy. "Until the next Gathering then, Bluestar, Fireheart," Stonefur meowed.

"Yes," Bluestar meowed softly. "We'll see you then."

Nodding to her one last time, Mistyfoot and Stonefur turned and jumped into the river, swimming across to their own territory on the opposite bank. They moved through the churning water with such ease that, had he not known any better, Fireheart would never have believed that they could be half-ThunderClan. He glanced over at Bluestar to see her gazing after her grown kits, the familiar expression of sorrow and longing on her face.

"Are you going to tell them?" he asked.

"Maybe one day, if the time is right," Bluestar meowed softly. "I just hope they won't be angry with me when I tell them the truth."

"I'm sure they'll understand," Fireheart meowed.

"Thank you, Fireheart," Bluestar murmured, giving his ears a swift lick. She leveled her gaze at him and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I...I don't know," he admitted.

"Longtail's death wasn't your fault. You know that."

"I know," Fireheart replied, although he could tell by his former mentor's expression that she wasn't convinced. "But...maybe if I hadn't come up with that plan, he'd still be here."

"Longtail knew the danger of the plan. They all did," Bluestar reminded him. "He chose to sacrifice himself for the good of the Clan, Fireheart. Don't blame yourself. He died a noble death, and he'll be watching over us all from StarClan now."

The gentle firmness in his leader's voice soothed Fireheart, and he closed his eyes briefly. "Alright," he meowed finally.

"Good," the blue-gray molly meowed. "Let's take his body to the elders to prepare for his burial, then."

It was strange, Fireheart reflected as he helped carry Longtail's body over to where the elders had taken shelter, that one of the three Clanmates he had hated the most had been the one to save him and the rest of the Clan. In a strange way, however, he also found it fitting. Longtail had been the one to challenge him on his first day in ThunderClan, sparking their rivalry that would last well into Fireheart's deputyship. He had followed Darkstripe and Tigerstar, only staying behind in ThunderClan when Tigerstar was exiled out of fear. He'd been a good mentor to Swiftshade, although his friendship with Tigerstar had blinded Bluestar to Swiftshade's growth and nearly prevented him from earning his warrior name. Longtail and Fireheart had never been friends, but there had been courtesy between them at the end.

And now he was a hero too.

Sandstorm stepped in beside him as the Clan made their way back to the camp, and he felt some of his strength return as she pressed her warm fur against his flank. There would be plenty of time to grieve later, and Tigerstar would certainly face the repercussions of his actions, but he needed to take care of the shell-shocked and hunted Clan first. It would be a considerable amount of work, but with Bluestar's guidance and Sandstorm's love, he knew that they would be fine in the end.

* * *

**That's a wrap for the _A Dangerous Path _part of this storyline. The next chapter will take place in _The Darkest Hour_. Originally, I was planning on splitting this into two stories, but I figured it would work better as one since it only covers two (technically only one and a half) books, and since I'm planning on splitting my _Echoing Flames _AU into different parts, I don't want my profile to be too cluttered. **

**So yeah, Longtail died...after the last chapter, I couldn't just let everyone come back alive, and I figured this was a better death for him than what he got in the canon books. I mean, come on, a character that got as much development as Longtail deserved a lot better than "okay, we're just going to let you get your eyes scratched out by a rabbit so you can sit in the elders' den for 20 years before a tree falls on you". **

**Thanks for reading! **

**-TheShadowedWarrior**


	23. Sandstorm's Surprise

Nearly half a moon had passed since the battle against the dogs and Longtail's sacrifice. Fortunately, no one else had suffered any significant injuries (save for Fireheart, who was still recovering from his fight with Tigerstar) and their territory, apart from several areas of broken undergrowth, was relatively unaffected. Dealing with the emotional aspect of what had happened, however, was another matter altogether.

When Fireheart took a little too long to get back from a solo hunting mission one day, he was practically smothered by Sandstorm upon his return and Bluestar had scolded him relentlessly for making them worry. During patrols, everyone's fur would stand up on end at the slightest sound. Kits and apprentices routinely woke up in the middle of the night, screaming in terror about being hunted by a giant dog. And the elders, especially Smallear, seemed to be casting Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw more suspicious glares than ever these days. Even Fireheart, stoic as he usually was, found himself unable to sleep one night until Bluestar offered to let him share her den.

The Clan was shell-shocked and hunted, and no amount of chamomile or thyme seemed to be enough to soothe them.

Then one day, Sandstorm gave Fireheart a bit of news that succeeded in temporarily distracting him from the nightmarish reality of becoming prey in his own home. While they were out hunting together, she turned to him with glowing green eyes and told him that she was expecting kits.

"K-kits? Really?" he stammered, and she purred happily.

"Yes, really," she confirmed, resting her head against his shoulder.

Fireheart stared at his mate for a few moments before her words finally began to sink in and he let out a purr of delight. "How long have you known?"

"A few days now," was Sandstorm's reply. "I thought I felt something moving, so I went to Cinderpelt and she confirmed that I was expecting. I was trying to find a time to tell you, but you've been so busy with your deputy duties that it just didn't happen." More hesitantly, she asked, "Are you pleased?"

"Pleased? This is the best news I've heard in forever," Fireheart meowed sincerely, and Sandstorm licked his cheek. "Our kits are going to be the best warriors in the Clan, Sandstorm. Clever and brave, just like their mother. Have you told anyone else the news yet?"

She shook her head. "Cinderpelt knows, but only because she was the one who confirmed everything for me. I thought it would be best if you were the first to know."

"We should tell Bluestar," Sandstorm added, a mischievous glint entering her eyes. "I'm sure she'll be pleased."

Fireheart groaned at the thought of the teasing he was sure to receive once his former mentor heard the news. At this point, he was resigned to the fact that his relationship with Sandstorm would forever be a running joke with Bluestar. Briefly, he wondered who among Mistyfoot and Stonefur would have been the most likely to join in on the jokes if they had stayed in ThunderClan.

It was past sunhigh by the time the two warriors returned to the camp. Fireheart and Sandstorm deposited their load onto the fresh-kill pile, then padded over to join Bluestar, who was sitting outside her den. As they approached the Highrock, they passed by Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw, walking by with fresh moss for the elders. Their apprentices raised their tails in greeting, and Fireheart and Sandstorm nodded back to them.

"I'll take you hunting later, Bramblepaw," Fireheart called out to the dark tabby, who nodded and carried on his way.

"Fireheart, Sandstorm," Bluestar greeted them. "Is there anything I can do for the two of you?"

"We have some good news, Bluestar," Sandstorm meowed, her eyes shining with happiness. "I'm expecting kits."

Bluestar looked between her deputy and his mate for a few heartbeats before her eyes lit up. "Congratulations, you two. It's about time."

"Thank you–wait, what do you mean, it's about time?" Fireheart asked as the second half of his leader's statement finally hit him. "Are you saying that Sandstorm and I should have been doing...this and that...since–since–"

"Oh, don't be embarrassed, it was quite obvious," the blue-gray queen purred. "You two have been mates, or practically mates, for so long, I'm surprised it took until now. Really, you should name one of your kits Moonkit, since you two have been mooning over each other forever."

"First of all, that's the worst joke I've ever heard. Second, under no circumstance will any child of ours be named Moonkit, and I will personally see to it that Cinderpelt and the other queens don't let you anywhere near the nursery when our kits are born."

Bluestar's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Just try it if you think you can, little one."

"Why do you call me that? I'm _not _little," Fireheart huffed as Sandstorm laughed.

"You're right, you're not little," Bluestar meowed. "You're positively tiny."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Bluestar?"

"Yes?"

"I hate you."

* * *

It didn't take long for word to spread around the camp that Sandstorm was expecting Fireheart's kits. The pale ginger molly had explained to Tawnypaw that she would be moving into the nursery in about half a moon or so, meaning that her training would be taken care of by another warrior for some time. Fireheart suspected that she and Bramblepaw had broken the news to the rest of the apprentices, and things must have escalated from there.

Goldenflower and Willowpelt did their best to try to force Sandstorm to move into the nursery with them, stating that it was best for her kits if she started resting as soon as possible. Brindleface went on a rant about how wonderful it was that Sandstorm was going to be a mother before giving Fireheart a long-winded lecture about making sure to treat her daughter properly. Brightheart and Cloudtail even pitched in to help as well, lining Sandstorm's nest with feathers to make her more comfortable until she moved into the nursery. And Fireheart, naturally, did more than everyone else in the Clan combined, bringing Sandstorm the best pieces of fresh-kill from the pile, fresh water every day, and making sure that she didn't overwork herself. The entire Clan was overjoyed by the news that there would be new kits soon–as well they might be, considering it was the first bit of good news they'd had in moons.

"What are you going to name them when they're born?" Sorrelkit, Willowpelt's only daughter, asked.

"Well, we won't decide on names until they're born," Sandstorm replied. "We need to see what they look like before we decide what to call them."

"Why?" the little molly asked curiously.

"Think about it this way," Sandstorm meowed. "Would it make sense if a queen chose to name her kits Flamekit, Sunkit, and Dawnkit only for all of them to be gray with brown eyes?"

Sorrelkit thought for a moment. "I guess not."

What Sandstorm didn't mention, and what she also hadn't told Fireheart, was that she already had a name picked out for one of her kits–that is, assuming everything went according to plan. If one of her kits turned out to be a molly, she would name her Lavenderkit after the queen her mate had befriended as a kittypet.

* * *

**Looks like Bluestar's going to have foster grandchildren soon! Fireheart's definitely excited about being a father. **

**On the topic of the kits, I need a favor from all of you. I haven't decided yet if I want to add one more kit to Sandstorm's litter (meaning that her litter would consist of Squirrelkit, Leafkit, and Lavenderkit) or simply change the name of one of her kits. If I went with the second option, Leafkit would be the one with the name change. Let me know which option you think I should go with. **

**As always, thanks for reading. **

**-TheShadowedWarrior**


	24. The Proposal

Two days later, the full moon was shining above Fourtrees as Bluestar led her Clan to the Gathering once again. Storm clouds were threatening the moon, and she wondered if StarClan were already angry at the Clans for some reason. She hoped they weren't; never before had a Gathering been canceled due to their ancestors' wrath.

Fireheart was padding beside her, his eyes flickering occasionally toward the moon. A few paces behind, Ashpaw and Fernpaw were bouncing around eagerly. They had been chosen to go in place of Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw, something Fireheart himself had insisted on.

"We don't want Tigerstar getting any ideas," he had stated. "Now that he knows that making a public demand for them won't work, I wouldn't put it past him to try to steal them out from under our noses."

When they arrived at Fourtrees, Bluestar leaped on top of the Great Rock as her deputy settled himself at the base of one of the trees. She was surprised to note that the clearing seemed much emptier than normal. A quick glance at her surroundings, however, told her the reason for this. The ThunderClan and WindClan representatives were present, but RiverClan and ShadowClan were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are RiverClan and ShadowClan?" Fireheart meowed from down below, his voice laced with irritation. "It's too cold to be standing around tonight."

"You wouldn't know cold if it bit your tail off," Mudclaw snorted. "That's the thing with you forest cats–you're weather-weak."

"And you would know all about being weak, wouldn't you?" Fireheart retorted. Beside her, Bluestar saw Tallstar's whiskers twitch as though he were suppressing a laugh. Judging by the way Mudclaw's eyes narrowed, he had seen it as well.

"Watch yourself, Fireheart," the mottled brown tom growled. "You wouldn't want to have another _accident_, now would you?"

"Mudclaw, if I had a mouse for every time you tried to make some sort of threat towards me, I'd have enough prey to feed both of our Clans a hundred times over," Fireheart replied, a bored look on his face.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Mudclaw never had a chance to respond. At that moment, a triumphant yowling sounded from the edge of the clearing. Startled, Bluestar lifted her head to see what looked to be most of ShadowClan and RiverClan racing into the clearing, side by side, with Tigerstar and Leopardstar at the head. The ShadowClan leader reached the top of the rock in a single bound, with Leopardstar following close behind.

"Great StarClan, Tigerstar," Tallstar meowed, clearly surprised by the dramatic entrance. For once, Bluestar found herself agreeing with him. "What's going on between you and RiverClan? Any cat would think that your Clans had allied together."

"We have," Tigerstar replied simply.

Bluestar stared at her former deputy in disbelief. She could do nothing but sit silently as Tigerstar swept his gaze over the surrounding warriors and apprentices.

"Cats of all Clans," the dark tabby meowed, his voice ringing out clear and firm. "You may have heard already, but for those of you who have not, Leopardstar has agreed to ally RiverClan with ShadowClan. Together, as one Clan, we will be known as TigerClan."

_How very arrogant of you, _Bluestar thought sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell us _why _you've done something so ridiculous?" Tallstar asked, his eyes narrowed. Bluestar was surprised to find herself agreeing with the WindClan leader for the second time that night. Ever since she had been a small kit, there had always been four Clans. That was the way StarClan had decreed it would be. What was Tigerstar playing at, changing the number of Clans now?

"Simple," Tigerstar meowed calmly. "We all know that great changes have come to the forest–unwelcome changes beyond our control. It has not been too long, I remind you since a flood covered part of the forest. Shortly after, a fire broke out in ThunderClan territory. Twolegs have been invading our homes in ever-greater numbers by the season. Why should we waste time striving against each other when we share so many common enemies? Therefore, I have come today with a proposal. Bluestar, Tallstar, I ask that you align your Clans with mine and Leopardstar's. In order to survive, we must unite."

"I see," Bluestar replied dryly. "But Tigerstar here's the problem–I don't care."

She half-expected Tigerstar to lose his temper, but instead, the dark tabby simply meowed, "Bluestar, I understand. These are serious matters, and an older cat such as yourself will need time to see that what I'm proposing is for the best."

"Oh, thanks, Tigerstar," Bluestar heard Fireheart mutter under his breath. "It's so reassuring to know that you understand the complications that come with aging, you hollow-minded old fool."

"Bluestar, I ask that you control your deputy," Tigerstar growled, clearly having heard every word that Fireheart said. "It's not his place to speak here."

"It is if I allow him to," Bluestar retorted coolly. "And right now, I see no need to silence him. He has not said anything remotely inaccurate or out of line."

Privately, she knew that wasn't true, but she didn't care much about basic courtesy when it came to Tigerstar. She wasn't surprised that he had chosen to name his new Clan after himself. Of course, it was possible that he had chosen it due to it being the name of one of the great ancient Clans, but she had a strong suspicion that it was the first reason.

"Well," Tigerstar snarled. "In that case, why don't I propose my idea to him instead? If you think it's fine for him to speak out of turn, then I suppose you wouldn't have any complaint. After all, I seem to recall that he was once in favor of there being only one Clan in the forest."

For a moment, Bluestar was furious. How dare Tigerstar suggest that his and Fireheart's ideals lined up in any way? Even if he was _technically _correct, it was unbecoming of a Clan leader to make a mockery out of a warrior of another Clan, which he had done so two times in a row now. Furthermore, when Fireheart had made the suggestion, it had come from a place of ignorance about Clan life and a genuine desire to do what was best for all four Clans. Tigerstar, whatever else he might say, was only interested in uniting all four Clans so he could rule the entire forest.

Before she could respond, Fireheart rose to his paws. The deputy's green eyes were cold, with the barest hit of condescension in them as though he were addressing a kit asking a foolish question.

"I acknowledge that what you said was true–or at least it once was," he meowed calmly. "However, what I said as an apprentice with no knowledge of Clan life does not hold true now. And even if it did, _you're _the last leader we would ever ally ourselves with. You see, we aren't exactly in the business of making friends with cats who smell as if they haven't washed in about six moons. But besides all that, even if what you say is remotely true, why should we believe that a _ShadowClan _leader was chosen to unite the forest? As I recall, it's always been ShadowClan that was at the root of every problem in the forest. It was ShadowClan who drove out WindClan several seasons ago. It was a ShadowClan leader who encouraged the murder of kits from his own Clan. It was that same ShadowClan leader who stole kits from the ThunderClan nursery. And it was ShadowClan–with the help of RiverClan, mind you–who invaded WindClan's camp and tried to drive them out a second time."

"And does anyone wonder," Fireheart continued, turning his attention to the cats surrounding him, "why it is that Tigerstar was chosen to be ShadowClan's leader when he used to be the ThunderClan deputy? Doesn't it seem suspicious to any of you that he disappeared from our camp one day and then turned up a few moons later as ShadowClan's new leader? Why him? Why not choose a real ShadowClan-born warrior?"

"Fireheart–" Tigerstar growled, but the flame-pelted warrior ignored him.

"So why don't we want to ally ourselves with you?" he asked, looking back up at the Great Rock. "Why should we? What have you done to prove that you truly have the blessing of StarClan? So in short, the answer is no, you're an absolute fool to even think that we would want anything to do with this new alliance, and I think I speak for everyone in ThunderClan–pardon me for overstepping my bounds, Bluestar–when I say that you should take your stupid RabbitClan and choke on it."

Tigerstar's jaw fell open as an explosion of cheers for Fireheart rose up among the ThunderClan and WindClan warriors. Bluestar was tempted to join in herself but managed to restrain herself, if only to keep up some illusion of civility. She turned her attention back to Tigerstar, who looked ready to claw someone's ears off, most likely hers or Fireheart's.

"Well," she began, unable to keep a note of amusement out of her voice. "I'd give you my answer, but I think Fireheart summed it up well. Let's call it a night before these storm clouds cover the moon, shall we? Good evening to you, Tallstar. Leopardstar–grow a spine sometime before the next Gathering, would you?"

With that, she leaped off the Great Rock and signaled for her warriors to follow her. Fireheart fell in step with her, his emerald eyes still shining with triumph. Bluestar flicked her apprentice with her tail affectionately, and he turned to her, chuckling.

"We're going to be in so much trouble," he meowed gleefully.

"Why do you look so happy about it?" Bluestar asked.

Fireheart sobered up immediately. "I'm not," he admitted. "I just want a chance to rip Rabbitstar and TigerClan's pelts apart–er, I mean rip Tigerstar and RabbitClan's pelts apart."

"Don't we all," Bluestar agreed, her whiskers twitching in amusement.

"Actually, there _is _something I need to talk to you about regarding what happened tonight," Fireheart meowed, suddenly looking grim.

"Right now?" she asked, surprised at her former apprentice's sudden change in demeanor.

But Fireheart shook his head. "No, not right now," he meowed. "When we get back home. I don't want anyone else overhearing. It's...not for all ears."

"Very well," Bluestar agreed, but on the inside, she felt her stomach twist nervously. What could Fireheart possibly have gathered from Tigerstar's announcement that he couldn't speak about in front of the rest of the Clan?

* * *

** Well, Tigerstar has officially formed Rabbit–I mean TigerClan. I have a plan for how to deal with the topic of Mistyfoot and Stonefur, and spoiler alert, I plan to keep Stonefur alive this time around. **

**Fireheart's getting feisty, isn't he? And some of his antics seem to have rubbed off on Bluestar. **

**Now to address the topic of Fireheart and Sandstorm's kits. After careful consideration, I've decided that I'm going to give them four kits: two mollies and two toms. Squirrelkit will keep her name, Leafkit's name will be changed to Lavenderkit, and as for the toms, well, that's a surprise :). **

**Thanks for reading, **

**-TheShadowedWarrior**


	25. Secrets Revealed

Fireheart didn't waste any time when they arrived back at Bluestar's den.

"Mistyfoot and Stonefur were missing from the Gathering," he told Bluestar, once he was sure that they weren't being eavesdropped on.

"_What?_" Bluestar meowed in disbelief, staring at the flame-colored tom. "They weren't?"

"No, they weren't," Fireheart confirmed. "I looked around for Stonefur, but I couldn't find him anywhere and I heard a few RiverClan warriors saying that they had been left behind. But none of them would say why."

Bluestar's eyes were troubled. "Do you think..." She left the sentence unfinished, but Fireheart knew what she was trying to ask.

"Actually, there's something else I've been meaning to tell you," he admitted. Briefly, he wondered how he would explain that Graypool had accidentally revealed Bluestar's deepest secret to Tigerstar. Finally, he decided to just get it over with and meowed, "Tigerstar knows that two of RiverClan's warriors were born in ThunderClan."

Bluestar stiffened visibly, her eyes filled with dread and terror. "How? How did he find out?" she demanded. "Who told him?"

"Graypool told him," Fireheart confessed, then quickly added, "But not on purpose. She was...confused, I guess, and she happened to stumble across Tigerstar one day. I think he had been visiting Crookedstar–it was just before he died. She mistook him for Oakheart, and asked him why he hadn't come to check on the two ThunderClan kits he brought to her. Eventually, she realized that he wasn't Oakheart, but it was too late by then."

"Why didn't you say something before?" Bluestar demanded, almost accusingly.

"I couldn't," the ginger tom meowed. "That was right before the battle with WindClan...and you were so troubled back then, it didn't seem like a good idea to bother you with it. You wouldn't have reacted well if I told you, 'Hey, guess what, Tigerstar knows that RiverClan has two ThunderClan-born warriors'. I was going to tell you later, but with everything that happened after that, there was never the right time."

Bluestar lowered her head and exhaled deeply. Fireheart, unsure what else to do, gently licked his former mentor between the ears and felt her press her nose against his cheek.

"She didn't mention anyone by name," he told her. "But I don't think it would take a lot for Tigerstar to guess, and considering both Mistyfoot and Stonefur were missing from the Gathering...and it's strange, don't you think, that Tigerstar would ally RiverClan with ShadowClan before the Gathering when his news was supposedly meant to be for all of us?"

"It's very strange," Bluestar agreed, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. She opened them a moment later and looked her deputy in the eye. "So, what do you suppose this means?"

"Two possibilities," Fireheart replied, narrowing his eyes as he tried to make sense of the situation before them. "One, Tigerstar has figured out that Mistyfoot and Stonefur are your kits and plans to use that against you somehow–and probably harm them as well. Two, this is another one of his plans to eradicate ThunderClan from the forest–because he knows that we aren't on good terms with WindClan, and our territory lies right in between ShadowClan and RiverClan. I think Stonefur has more honor than Leopardstar, which could explain why he was left behind."

Fireheart could practically see the thoughts swirling in his former mentor's mind. On one hand, Mistyfoot and Stonefur didn't know that Bluestar was their mother, and revealing such a thing to them would require an extensive explanation that there wasn't a lot of time to give–and that was assuming they were even interested in hearing it. However, on the other hand, there was no denying that they would be in danger if they were left under Tigerstar's reign. The dark tabby was many things, but stupid was not one of them and Fireheart didn't think it would take too much intuition to figure out who the mother of Mistyfoot and Stonefur had been.

"Bluestar?" he prompted when the ThunderClan leader had been silent for several moments.

"Hmm?" She looked up at him, her eyes distant.

"What do you think we should do?" he asked. "Sooner or later, Tigerstar will probably find out the truth if he hasn't already."

The blue-gray molly hesitated for a moment longer, then meowed, "See if you can get Mistyfoot or Stonefur tomorrow and tell them to come to meet me. I think it's time I told them the truth."

* * *

The following afternoon, Fireheart was pretending to patrol the RiverClan border while keeping a sharp eye out for either of Bluestar's offspring. He made sure to catch a few pieces of prey, just to avoid arousing any suspicion. Fortunately, none of his own Clanmates were around to see him lurking by the border. The last thing he needed was to have to explain why he was stalking two warriors from a rival Clan.

Eventually, he spotted Mistyfoot and Stonefur approaching from the reeds, each carrying a mouse in their jaws. To his dismay, however, the third cat accompanying them was Blackclaw. He noticed that Blackclaw looked considerably more well-fed than his two Clanmates, and the feeling of foreboding rose up in his stomach again.

_Fantastic, _Fireheart thought sarcastically. _Out of everyone I could have possibly run into, it just had to be him. _

There was no turning back now, though. Praying to StarClan that Blackclaw wouldn't notice him, Fireheart ducked behind a cluster of ferns and hissed, "Mistyfoot! Stonefur!"

He waited with bated breath as Mistyfoot and Stonefur's ears swiveled toward the sound of his voice. Blackclaw, to his relief, didn't seem to have picked up on anything. Fireheart wondered why then realized that the RiverClan warrior was busy trying to scent out a vole from somewhere upwind.

"Blackclaw," Mistyfoot called to her Clanmate, "We're going to try for some prey in these ferns. Don't wait for us."

Fireheart heard Blackclaw meow something in response before padding away. A moment later, Mistyfoot and Stonefur walked around the ferns, and he straightened up to greet them.

"Fireheart," Stonefur meowed, dipping his head respectfully. "What is it you need?"

"I was sent by Bluestar to get you two–yes, I do mean both of you," he added in response to the questioning look in the RiverClan deputy's eyes. "There's something she needs to talk to you two about."

"What is it?" Mistyfoot asked curiously.

Fireheart shook his head. "That's something Bluestar has to explain. It's not my place to tell," he meowed. Seeing their uncertainty, he added, "Please–it's important. This could be something that affects both our Clans if the wrong cats find out about it."

To his relief, the two RiverClan warriors nodded. "Lead the way, Fireheart," Stonefur meowed. "If this is as important as you say it is, we'll listen to whatever it is Bluestar has to say."

Fireheart nodded and led the way swiftly back to the ThunderClan camp, though he made sure to keep a slightly slower pace than usual since Mistyfoot and Stonefur were unused to the terrain. Fortunately, they didn't seem to have much trouble keeping their footing and managed to keep a relatively even pace with him the entire way. He wondered if their ThunderClan blood had anything to do with it.

When they arrived back at camp, the three cats headed straight for Bluestar's den. The ThunderClan leader was lying down in her nest when they arrived but sat up when she saw her deputy and two kits. Stonefur lowered his head respectfully to Bluestar as Fireheart sat down a few paces away from his leader, curling his tail over his paws. Once everyone had settled themselves down, Bluestar dove right into her explanation.

"Right," she meowed. "Before I get started, what exactly has Fireheart told you so far?"

"Nothing," Stonefur replied.

"Only that you needed to talk to us and what you're going to tell us could destroy our Clans if the wrong cats find out about it," Mistyfoot added. More hesitantly, she asked, "It...it's not really that bad, is it?"

"I'm afraid it might be," Bluestar murmured.

"But what could possibly be so bad that it would destroy _both _our Clans?" Stonefur asked. There was no anger in his voice, just confusion. "And what do Mistyfoot and I have to do with it?"

Bluestar hesitated for a few moments, then meowed, "Because...because you two are half-Clan. Your father was Oakheart, but Graypool wasn't your mother."

"What?" Stonefur exclaimed, leaping to his paws. Fireheart winced at the blaze of fury that lit up his eyes. "What are you talking about? Of course, she was our mother."

"No," Bluestar meowed, her own eyes filled with sorrow. "I am your mother, Stonefur. I had to give you two up when you were still kits."

"I don't believe it!" the RiverClan deputy snarled. "It's a trick."

"Fireheart?" Mistyfoot meowed quietly. "Is this true?"

She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't lie to her. Hesitantly, aware of the way Stonefur had turned that burning gaze on him now, he nodded. As soon as he did, Mistyfoot seemed to deflate and Stonefur's eyes filled with renewed fury.

"Stonefur, I–" Bluestar began, but he cut her off.

"_You abandoned us!_" he hissed furiously. "You dumped us off to another Clan to raise! What, were we that much of a burden to you?"

"No!" Bluestar exclaimed desperately. "You were never a burden. I loved you two very much."

"Obviously not enough," Mistyfoot meowed bitterly, turning her gaze to her mother, who lowered her head, pain flashing in her eyes.

Fireheart knew that it wasn't his place to interfere, but he couldn't stop himself. He had to make Mistyfoot and Stonefur listen to Bluestar. If they didn't, Tigerstar would destroy both their Clans.

"_Please _listen, you two," he pleaded. "Yes, she had to give you up to another Clan–but Mistyfoot, you had kits of your own, didn't you? Do either of you know of any queens who would willingly give up their kits for no reason?"

Mistyfoot thought for a moment, then replied, "No, I suppose not."

"Exactly!" Fireheart meowed. "So don't you think there was probably a very good reason _why _Bluestar had to give you over to RiverClan?"

The two RiverClan cats hesitated for a moment, but Fireheart could see some of the anger and hurt fading from their eyes. Finally, after a few tense moments of silence, Stonefur turned back to Bluestar, the fur on his shoulders lying flat now.

"Very well," he meowed curtly. "Tell us everything. But this had better be worth it."

Bluestar blinked gratefully at Fireheart and meowed, "Alright, then. I met your father when I was a warrior. He was...arrogant, but I found him charming at the same time. One night, he asked if we could meet at Fourtrees. That was the only time we ever met, but I found out later that I was expecting kits. The rest of the Clan didn't suspect anything–in fact, they were convinced that another one of my Clanmates, Thrushpelt, was the father."

Her eyes softened as she continued, "A moon or so later, you two were born–along with your sister, Mosskit."

"Okay," Mistyfoot meowed slowly. "But what happened after that?"

"Then our deputy, Tawnyspots, decided to retire due to illness," Bluestar meowed, repeating the familiar story she had told Fireheart all those moons ago. "I knew I had a good chance of being chosen in his place. Our medicine cat, Goosefeather, had told me that I had a great destiny ahead of me. But I also knew that the Clan would never take a queen nursing kits as Clan deputy–and the other most likely candidate at the time was Thistleclaw."

"Thistleclaw?" Stonefur echoed. "I think I remember him. He was a good warrior, wasn't he?"

"Good? That depends on how you define it," Bluestar answered. "He was certainly strong and brave, but his answer to every problem was to fight. Goosefeather had seen a vision of what would happen if Thistleclaw were to become leader, which would likely have happened if he was chosen as deputy. He would have destroyed ThunderClan, leading it into battle after battle. The only way to stop him would be if I became the deputy instead, but that couldn't happen if I was still raising kits."

"But...then why give us to another Clan?" Mistyfoot asked. "Couldn't another queen have taken us?"

"It wasn't an easy decision," the ThunderClan leader told them. "That was an especially cold leaf-bare. The only queens who were still nursing barely had enough milk to sustain their own kits, let alone three more. I knew you two would be safe and well-fed in RiverClan, and that your father would take care of you there. One night, I snuck you out of camp and took you to Sunningrocks...but Mosskit was too weak for the journey and died with me by the river."

Mistyfoot and Stonefur didn't say anything. They simply sat, waiting for Bluestar to finish her story.

"For many moons, I tried to put the thought of you two out of my mind," she went on. "I became deputy, then Clan leader after Sunstar died. But I never forgot about you, ever. Even when you two had forgotten me, I still never stopped caring. There were so many times when I had to hold myself back from telling you everything because it wasn't the right time and you had Graypool to be a mother to you...but I never stopped loving you."

At last, Mistyfoot and Stonefur believed her. Slowly, they nodded and moved forward to lick their mother's cheek. Bluestar purred with delight and pressed her muzzle against her two kits' fur. Fireheart kept silent, not wanting to disturb his leader's reunion with her children.

After a few moments, Mistyfoot turned to face him again. "Did you know about this?" she asked. There was no accusation in her voice, just curiosity.

"I did," Fireheart admitted. "But it was really an accident that I found out. I was...dealing with some other issues at the time, and I happened to find out through working around all of that."

"Why didn't you say something?" she asked.

"One, it wasn't my secret to tell," he replied. "Two, I don't think it would have been a good idea to waltz into RiverClan territory and say, 'Guess what, you two? You guys are actually my leader's kits. Surprise!' I don't think that would have gone over well."

They nodded, and Stonefur meowed, "But why would this destroy our Clans? I'm assuming that not everyone knows, so as long as it stays a secret..."

"I don't think it will for long," Fireheart interrupted. "Tigerstar knows that two RiverClan warriors were born in ThunderClan."

"What?" Mistyfoot asked in disbelief. "How?"

Quickly, Fireheart repeated the story he had told Bluestar the day before. As he continued, he felt a pang of sorrow to see the pain and anger in Mistyfoot's eyes as she found out the truth about her adopted mother's death. He regretted not telling her sooner, but it hadn't been the right time.

"She didn't mention anything about you two specifically," he meowed, once he'd finished. "But I doubt it would take much for Tigerstar to figure it out. And if there was one thing that Tigerstar always hated, it was half-Clan and non-Clanborn cats–basically, anyone who wasn't pure-blooded. He hated me simply for being a kittypet, and if he thinks that's bad, what do you suppose he would do to two half-ThunderClan warriors whose mother is the leader who exiled him? Maybe it won't affect our Clans entirely, but if he finds out the truth–and he will–then you two won't be safe in your own Clan."

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Stonefur asked. "Just up and leave our Clans?"

Fireheart thought for a moment. "No," he replied finally. "Not yet. That would look too suspicious. But one of us will come to the border every few days, and you can tell us what's going on with this PigeonClan idea of Tigerstar's. If it sounds like things have gotten worse, then we'll devise a way to get you out of RiverClan–and I'd suggest bringing Featherpaw and Stormpaw too if it comes down to it."

Mistyfoot and Stonefur nodded in acceptance. "Alright, then," the RiverClan deputy replied. "If that's all...?"

"Yes," Bluestar meowed. "I'll escort you two back to your territory. Fireheart, stay here and keep Sandstorm company. She was getting rather irritated about your absence the last I heard."

She had the familiar teasing glint in her eyes as she said this, and Mistyfoot and Stonefur flashed him a knowing look as they padded out of Bluestar's den. Fireheart lowered his head to the ground and sighed in defeat. First his leader, now her kits. What had he done to make StarClan hate him so much?


	26. Flight From TigerClan

During the next half moon, life seemed to go back to normal. Fireheart and Bluestar made frequent trips to the RiverClan border, and although Mistyfoot and Stonefur were growing thinner due to the approaching leaf-bare season, they didn't report anything that would be cause for alarm. A few days ago, Sandstorm had moved to the nursery, although she was slightly displeased with being confined to the camp. Her stomach had swollen considerably, which was a good indication that there would be several kits on their way soon.

One day, however, Mistyfoot and Stonefur didn't show up at the border when Fireheart went to speak to them. He raced home and was about to inform Bluestar of what had happened when he was intercepted by Graystripe on the way to her den.

"Fireheart, wait! I need your help," the gray warrior pleaded.

"I–but–okay, what is it?" Fireheart relented, not having the heart to deny his friend when he was obviously agitated about something.

"I've been worried about Featherpaw and Stormpaw," Graystripe admitted. "Ever since the Gathering, I haven't been able to get them off my mind. I tried going to the border a few times to see if I could get any news of them, but no one was willing to talk to me. And now that Tigerstar has essentially taken over RiverClan, my kits are in danger."

Fireheart nodded, seeing Graystripe's point. "But what do you want me to do about it?"

"I'm not asking for anything drastic," the gray tabby meowed quickly. "Just...do you think you could sneak over there with me? You know, just to check on them and make sure everything's alright. If not, I guess we can decide what to do then."

Fireheart opened his mouth to protest, then realized that this could work in his favor. If he agreed to go with Graystripe to RiverClan, he would be able to figure out if Mistyfoot and Stonefur were safe as well. Best of all, Bluestar wouldn't have to put her final life at risk.

"Alright," he agreed. "Let's get going then, before–"

He broke off, however, as Tawnypaw came stalking out of the elders' den, her head and her tail held high as she headed for the gorse tunnel. Her amber eyes blazed with fury. Bramblepaw followed behind her, clutching a bundle of bedding moss in his jaws. He looked worried. The tortoiseshell molly stalked over towards Fireheart, dropping the bundle of moss she held in her own jaws.

"He's at it again, Fireheart!" she spat.

"Who is?" Fireheart asked worriedly. What had happened that could have driven Tawnypaw into this state?

"Smallear!" Tawnypaw hissed. "Okay, so I was a _little _late to clear out the old bedding–and it was only a few moments, mind you–and because of that, he told me that Tigerstar never cared about the elders either and he could see that I was just like him! It's not the first time he's said things either. Yesterday, he told me that Bluestar should have handed us over to ShadowClan because it's where all traitors belong! I don't see why I should have to put up with it and I have half a mind to put yarrow in his fresh-kill!"

"He said _that _to you?" the ThunderClan deputy asked in disbelief. The two apprentices nodded, and Fireheart narrowed his eyes. "Oh _no_. This ends _now_. Wait here a moment, Graystripe. I'm going to have a little talk with a certain elder."

Without another word, he marched over to the elders' den, pushing his way inside. Speckletail, One-eye, and Dappletail all looked over at him curiously, while Smallear merely glared.

"What do you want?" the old tom growled. "Can't a cat get a wink of sleep around here without you barging in?"

"Actually, I came to talk to you, Smallear," Fireheart meowed in a fake, sickly pleasant voice. It was a trick he'd learned from Bluestar back when he was an apprentice. "I just had a chat with Tawnypaw. Seems something might have happened between the two of you."

"Oh, yes," Smallear replied, yawning. "The brat was late to clear out our old bedding. No respect for us, just like her father. It's easy to tell she's just like him–her _and _her brother. Now go away, Fireheart. I'd like to get some sleep."

"I don't give a rat's tail what you want, you miserable old bag of bones," Fireheart snarled, at once dropping all pretense of friendliness. Smallear and the rest of the elders were so shocked by his outburst that none of them bothered to reprimand him. "I've let you get away with taunting Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw for moons now, but it ends here. Who their father is has nothing to do with why Tawnypaw was late to clear out your bedding. For StarClan's sake, at least she showed up! There have been other apprentices who did worse, yet I don't see you mocking their parentage for it. And if punctuality is such a big deal to you, perhaps _you _should take care of your own bedding. Your mouth seems to work perfectly well; let's see if your supposedly stiff joints can handle a bit of exercise. Who knows, it might make you a halfway tolerable cat. But make no mistake, Smallear, if I _ever _hear that you've been giving Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw–or any other apprentice, for that matter–a hard time again, then having to wait a little longer for fresh bedding will only be the _second _worst thing you have to deal with."

"And how _dare _you suggest that Bluestar should have handed them over to ShadowClan?" he continued, lashing his tail in fury. "If there's anyone who belongs in ShadowClan, Smallear, it's you. You're cruel, heartless, self-centered, everything that describes a ShadowClan warrior. News flash, you pathetic old fool, you're not impressing anyone by constantly mocking Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw. It wasn't their choice to be Tigerstar's kits, but you're humiliating and mocking them for something they have no control over. To be quite honest, Smallear, you make me sick and I speak for everyone when I say that the day you're finally rotting underground will be cause for great celebration."

With that, he dipped his head in a farewell to the other elders and padded out of the den. Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw were lurking just outside, the expressions on their faces letting him know they had heard every word.

"I think he'll leave you alone from now on, you two," he meowed to them. "But if he doesn't, you have my permission to slip a moon's worth of poppy seeds into his fresh-kill."

"Thanks, Fireheart," Tawnypaw meowed, looking slightly more cheerful than she had a few moments ago. Fireheart nodded to her and walked back over to where Graystripe was waiting patiently for him.

"Sorry about that," he meowed. "Let's go check on your kits."

* * *

The sun had gone down by the time Fireheart and his friends reached the edge of the forest. Warning Graystripe to stay back, Fireheart crept through the undergrowth until he could look out over the river. In front of him lay the stepping stones, the easiest route into RiverClan territory. As he peered out over the cold, gray water, he caught a strong scent of cats–RiverClan and ShadowClan mixed. A patrol was making its way along the opposite bank, but he couldn't see the blue-gray pelts of Mistyfoot or Stonefur.

There was no choice now. They had to sneak into RiverClan territory. Fireheart knew the risk he was taking–if he was caught, ThunderClan would be in significant trouble–but he had to do it for his leader and his best friend.

Graystripe had crept up beside him. "What are we waiting for?" he whispered.

Fireheart angled his ears toward the patrol. A moment later, they disappeared into the reed bed and their scent slowly disappeared.

"Okay, let's go," Fireheart meowed.

Leading the way, he stepped from one stepping stone to another across the black, swiftly flowing water. He thought back to the floods of the last leaf-bare when he and Graystripe had nearly drowned saving Mistyfoot's kits. Leopardstar had clearly forgotten that old debt now, as well as how Fireheart and Graystripe had helped the starving cats of RiverClan by taking prey from their own hunting grounds.

_Perhaps ShadowClan isn't the only untrustworthy Clan in this forest, _he thought bitterly.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. There was no time to dwell on that now. Reaching the far bank, Fireheart slid into the shelter of a clump of reeds and checked once more that no enemy cats were near. All he could scent was the trace of the patrol, growing steadily fainter.

Suddenly, a new scent drifted on the breeze. Fireheart paused, his whiskers twitching. His eyes widened as he recognized the scent of carrion, crowfood that had rotted for days until its foul stench poisoned the air. And then, slightly fainter but still equally pungent, the smell of sick cats.

"Come on," he hissed, his fur bristling in alarm. "Let's go see what that is."

They continued padding through the reeds in the direction where the scents were coming from. Fireheart could scent Tigerstar; the dark tabby had been here recently, but he was nowhere to be seen now. So far, they had been fortunate enough not to run into any enemy warriors, but the ThunderClan deputy knew better than to push his luck too far. If they didn't move quickly, they were likely to find them facing a TigerClan patrol–or worse, Tigerstar himself.

StarClan seemed to be on their side, however, for they made it through the territory without being spotted, using the reeds to disguise their scents. The smell of sick cats and crowfood was growing stronger than ever, and Fireheart knew they must be close to whatever it was. As they headed toward the farmland on the other side of RiverClan territory, the reeds thinned out and the ground rose. When Fireheart and Graystripe came to the edge of the cover, they saw a grassy slope in front of them with an occasional clump of grass and hawthorn. About halfway up, a hole yawned in the hillside. That was where the scent of sickness had come from. Jaggedtooth, one of Tigerstar's warriors, was crouched outside it.

Suddenly, Graystripe let out a hiss. "Featherpaw and Stormpaw!" he exclaimed quietly. "I can smell them. They're inside that hole."

Fireheart was impressed that Graystripe had been able to scent his kits through the stench of sickness. Featherpaw and Stormpaw were indeed inside the hole–as were Mistyfoot and Stonefur, he realized with a feeling of dread. If there had been any doubt before, this latest discovery quashed all of them. Tigerstar must have realized that Mistyfoot and Stonefur were Bluestar's kits.

Suddenly, Blackfoot padded out of the reeds. Fireheart and Graystripe ducked down, but the ShadowClan deputy didn't seem to notice them. He strolled over to Jaggedtooth, who rose and moved forward to meet him.

"Get the prisoners out," he ordered. "Tigerstar is calling for a meeting at the Bonehill."

Jaggedtooth nodded and reached down into the hole, dragging a cat roughly out of its depths. With a sinking feeling of dread, Fireheart realized that the skinny gray pelt belonged to that of Stonefur. One of his ears was torn and bleeding and he looked as though he hadn't eaten in several days. He was stunned. Of course, the RiverClan deputy had been losing weight for a while, but Fireheart had assumed it was because of the dwindling amount of prey due to the approaching leaf-bare.

Fireheart couldn't stand by any longer. He knew the trouble he'd be inviting by appearing now, but he wasn't about to let a couple of ShadowClan rogues hurt Bluestar and Graystripe's kits–or worse. Without even caring that he was on another Clan's territory, Fireheart rose out from the reeds and strode forward toward the two ShadowClan warriors, who reared back in surprise at the sight of him. Stonefur's eyes widened and he looked at Fireheart questioningly.

"Fireheart!" Blackfoot snarled. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," Fireheart snarled back. Graystripe came to stand beside him, glaring at the ShadowClan deputy. "So you've taken to keeping RiverClan cats prisoners, have you? What happened to everyone being one Clan?"

"We have no place in TigerClan for half-Clan filth," Jaggedtooth growled. Meanwhile, Blackfoot had dragged Featherpaw and Stormpaw out of the hole as well. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a meeting to get to."

He moved forward, but Fireheart and Graystripe blocked his path. The two ThunderClan warriors advanced on him, their tails lashing simultaneously. Jaggedtooth and Blackfoot bared their fangs, but they would not be derailed.

"You know," Fireheart growled. "I don't think I need to remind you of what happened the last time ShadowClan abused and tormented innocent cats. But it seems as though you haven't learned your lesson. Stonefur, can you still fight?"

"Always, Fireheart," Stonefur replied, his eyes burning with rage now as he glowered at the two ShadowClan warriors.

Jaggedtooth snarled at them. "If you want these prisoners, kittypet, you'll have to kill us to get them."

Fireheart narrowed his eyes. "So be it."

With a screech, Jaggedtooth launched himself at Fireheart. The two cats crashed to the ground, spitting and clawing. A few tail-lengths away, Stonefur and Graystripe were locked in a tussle with Blackfoot. Though thin, the RiverClan deputy's skills had not deserted him and Graystripe was battling with the strength of LionClan to protect his children. Within moments, Blackfoot had nearly been overpowered, giving Mistyfoot time to clamber out of the hole.

"Mistyfoot!" Fireheart managed to gasp out, dodging a blow from Jaggedtooth's claws. "Are you alright?"

"I will be!" Mistyfoot called back to him.

Fireheart nodded, then winced as Jaggedtooth's teeth clamped down on his shoulder. He wrenched himself free before scoring his claws across the other warrior's flank. His wounds from the battle against WindClan were nearly healed now, but a few more of them had split open once more. Cinderpelt was going to have his tail when he returned home.

There was no sign of Blackfoot now, and Fireheart realized that he must have fled, most likely to fetch reinforcements. He would have to end this fight with Jaggedtooth quickly. Fireheart reared up, at the same time as Jaggedtooth began to slide underneath him for an underbelly strike. But he slipped at the last moment and in an attempt to steady himself, his hind leg shot out and caught Fireheart's, knocking him over as well.

The full weight of Fireheart's body came crashing down on Jaggedtooth's throat.

Fireheart immediately climbed off the massive ginger tabby, staring in horror as he let out a horrible choking sound. His body convulsed for a few moments before lying still, his features still twisted by rage and hatred.

_No...oh, StarClan, no! _

He wanted to be sick. Despite Jaggedtooth's assertion that he would have to kill him to save the RiverClan prisoners, he had never intended to actually do so. Numb with shock, Fireheart barely noticed as Graystripe and Stonefur padded over to him.

"We're going back to ThunderClan now," his friend meowed. "Cinderpelt will need to see to them."

Fireheart merely nodded, following Graystripe as they crossed the border into Treecutplace before walking back to the ThunderClan camp. He didn't even look back to see if anyone had noticed that the RiverClan warriors were missing, or pay attention as Mistyfoot worriedly asked him if he was alright.

When they arrived at the gorse tunnel, just before they headed inside, Fireheart hesitated. He couldn't find the will to face his Clanmates right now. Lowering his head, he turned to face Graystripe.

"Take them to Cinderpelt, then get Bluestar and explain what happened," he meowed quietly. "I'm going to go–er, take care of a few things. I'll be back later."

"Okay," Graystripe agreed, his yellow eyes gentle with sympathy. Mistyfoot and Stonefur meowed something to him in turn as they padded through the gorse tunnel, but Fireheart was barely listening and merely nodded in response. Featherpaw and Stormpaw looked at him worriedly, then bounded after their father and mentors.

Slowly, without any clear idea of where he was going, Fireheart turned around and walked off into the forest.


	27. Contemplations

Night had fallen, and still, Fireheart hadn't returned to the camp yet. Mistyfoot and Stonefur were asleep in the warriors' den, the rest of the Clan having graciously offered them a place to sleep when they found out about what had happened. Featherpaw and Stormpaw were in there as well. They had been offered a place in the apprentices' den but had been too frightened to leave their father's side, and Bluestar hadn't had the heart to separate them.

She had been beside herself with worry when her kits arrived at their camp covered in cuts and bite marks and looking half-starved, but Cinderpelt had treated their wounds efficiently and they barely seemed to be feeling anything now. Although thin, they didn't have any other serious health issues either and would be right as rain within a few days, provided they ate plenty. Graystripe's kits were fine as well, aside from a nasty cut on Stormpaw's left cheek.

At the moment, Bluestar had another worry on her mind: Fireheart. Her deputy had killed one of the ShadowClan warriors, Jaggedtooth, in battle while rescuing the RiverClan cats. From what Stonefur had told her, he had taken it badly. Bluestar had no doubt that it had been an honest accident, but Fireheart had a way of berating himself for even the smallest incidents. But now he wasn't coming back, and she was concerned that something had happened to him. Tigerstar would almost definitely be looking for revenge, and Fireheart needed to get his own injuries looked at as well. Sandstorm had nearly been beside herself with worry and had only calmed down when Mistyfoot assured her that her mate was safe and only needed time to himself for a while.

_What do I do now? _

Bluestar couldn't stand it any longer. Even if it meant leaving the camp without a leader or deputy present, she had to find Fireheart. It was clear that he wasn't planning on returning anytime soon, and she needed to knock some sense into him. At this point, it was either that or wait for Sandstorm to sneak out and wear herself out trying to find him. Padding silently out of the gorse tunnel, Bluestar paused for a moment to sniff the air. The air seemed damp and as cold as it was, she knew snow had to be on the way. Quickening her pace, she set off through ThunderClan's hunting grounds in search of her missing deputy.

Fireheart's scent trail was stale but strong enough that she was able to follow it without much trouble. Bluestar silently thanked StarClan that the weather had been dry that day. She followed the trail all the way to the Great Sycamore, where it ended. As she looked around, however, she couldn't see any sign of Fireheart anywhere.

"Fireheart?" Bluestar called out nervously. _Please, StarClan, don't let him have been bitten by an adder or anything. _

"Up here," came a faint voice from somewhere high above her head.

Bluestar peered upward, squinting her eyes to see in the darkness. Through the foliage overhead, she could just barely make out a bright orange shape. She blinked for a moment, stunned. How high had Fireheart climbed?

With no other option, Bluestar braced herself and began climbing up the massive tree. It was difficult to make out where to place her paws in the darkness, and twice she nearly slipped and fell off. Eventually, however, she made it to the top, where she found Fireheart seated on one of the branches, looking out over the territory. As she moved to sit beside him, he shifted his gaze over to her. She felt a pang when she saw the desolate, empty look in his normally bright green eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly.

Fireheart gave a grunt. "I don't know," he replied. "Depends what you mean by that."

"I heard about what happened," Bluestar meowed gently. "Fireheart, Jaggedtooth's death wasn't your fault. You know that."

"Isn't it, though?" Bluestar suspected that it was meant to sound challenging, but Fireheart sounded weary instead. "I was the one fighting him. I was the one who fell on his throat and killed him. How exactly is this not my fault?"

"Fireheart–"

"And even if it _was _unintentional," the flame-colored tom continued. "They're going to find my scent on his body, and they're going to realize I'm the one who killed him. As if Tigerstar needed another reason to hate ThunderClan. You can say it's not my fault all you want, Bluestar, but the fact is I've just given ShadowClan _and _RiverClan–since they're apparently allies and all–a perfectly legitimate reason to attack us."

"Fireheart, calm down," Bluestar meowed, placing her tail on her former apprentice's shoulder. "Yes, you did kill Jaggedtooth. Yes, Tigerstar will probably use it as an opportunity to attack us. I'm not arguing with you on that. But he would have found a reason either way. You haven't done anything except speed up the inevitable."

Fireheart flinched slightly, and she ran her tail gently down his back. He pressed his flank against hers, and she felt him shiver violently in the freezing night air. His fur was much shorter than hers, and it would be some time before he was able to withstand the leaf-bare chill.

"Killing someone does _not _make you evil, Fireheart," she told him gently. "Especially not when it's done on accident or for the greater good. Is it unfortunate? Yes, but sometimes others have to die for the sake of what's right. Tell me, if you hadn't confronted Jaggedtooth and Blackfoot, what would have happened?"

The deputy thought for a moment. "Blackfoot said they were taking them to a meeting at some place called the Bonehill," he answered. "Tigerstar was meant to be there–at the meeting, that is. I don't know for sure what they were planning, but considering they were keeping Mistyfoot, Stonefur, Featherpaw, and Stormpaw in a hole, I doubt it was anything good."

"Do you think they would have made it out of there alive?" Bluestar asked.

"I think...no," Fireheart replied finally. "Maybe some of them, but definitely not all. Tigerstar would have ordered his warriors to kill at least one of them–probably Featherpaw or Stormpaw since they'd be the weakest and the easiest to deal with."

"Exactly," Bluestar meowed. "You chose to do the right thing and helped save the lives of all four RiverClan prisoners. Was the end result completely ideal? No. But sometimes, doing the right thing requires sacrifices. And frankly, the life of a ShadowClan warrior is a small price to pay."

It was a cruel thing to say and she knew it, but she couldn't bring herself to feel guilty. Even if Jaggedtooth had only been following his Clan leader's orders, the fact remained that he had willingly helped torture and starve her kits as well as Graystripe's for no reason other than the fact that Tigerstar couldn't get over being exiled from ThunderClan. In a way, she was almost glad that Jaggedtooth was dead. Not because of the potential trouble it would cause for her Clan, of course, but because there was one less treacherous rogue in the forest now.

But Fireheart had never been the type of cat to take pleasure in another warrior's death, no matter what they had done. She could still remember him asking Cinderpelt–Cinderpaw at the time–to treat Tigerstar's wounds after the dark tabby had attacked her inside her den. Despite what Tigerstar had done to her, and despite the fact that he had bullied, harassed, and nearly killed Fireheart multiple times, he had never wanted him dead. His compassion was a large part of what made Bluestar proud of the warrior he had become, and she knew he would make a great leader someday.

That was in the future, though. Right now, her main concern was getting Fireheart to calm down, or at least get him down from the Great Sycamore. He was noticeably unsteady now, the physical pain from his wounds clearly bothering him. Silently, she began licking his fur like a mother comforting her kit, letting him lean against her shoulder to keep himself from slipping off the branch.

_My little apprentice. _

He was an idiot. A reckless fool. Fiercely independent, with almost no regard for the warrior code.

Yet at the same time, he was also kind and selfless. He cared about the well-being of every cat in the forest, even the ones who weren't from his own Clan. No matter how someone wronged him, he could never truly wish ill on anyone.

He was blind. Not in the literal sense, of course. Somehow though, he also managed to see more than anyone else.

And somewhere deep down–perhaps the reason she felt as protective of him as she did–he was still the same little kittypet who'd joined the Clan at only six moons old. The one who had been so frightened of making mistakes that he had convinced himself that she would exile him simply for having a moment of weakness and feeding Yellowfang when she was sick and starving.

She loved him. Even if they weren't blood-related, she had always thought of him as her kit. She had never forgotten her children and no one could ever replace them, but being able to train and practically raise Fireheart had helped lessen the sting, if only temporarily. He drove her insane on many occasions, but there was nothing she would change about him.

"Thank you," Fireheart whispered.

Bluestar draped her tail over his shoulders, keeping him steady as they made their way down the tree. As they bounded down from the last branch onto the rocks below–Fireheart landing much more clumsily than she–the blue-gray queen noticed that Fireheart was looking considerably weaker and more exhausted. He would need to get to Cinderpelt soon. But the despairing look in his eyes had vanished, and although he clearly wasn't back to his normal self yet, some of the self-hatred he'd been feeling had been tempered slightly.

"Come on," she meowed. "Let's get back home."


	28. Four New Warriors

Fireheart paced about the camp, his tail lashing anxiously. Sandstorm had been kitting since dawn, and the sun was well past its peak but none of the kits had arrived yet. Goldenflower and Willowpelt had both kicked him out of the nursery, claiming that his presence would only stress Sandstorm out more. He didn't exactly see how that could happen, but he knew better than to argue with the queens. As a result, he was stuck trying to judge how things were progressing from the sounds coming from inside, which, considering the fact that all he could hear was the occasional command to push from Cinderpelt and several yowls of pain from Sandstorm, wasn't going so well.

"Fireheart, would you stop pacing? You're going to stress everyone else out too," Mistyfoot meowed, but her tone wasn't as annoyed as her words would have suggested. "Sandstorm is going to be just fine."

"Right," Fireheart muttered, glancing toward the nursery. He stopped pacing, but that did nothing to alleviate the anxiety fluttering in his stomach.

"First-time father jitters?" Stonefur asked, his eyes gleaming with sympathy and amusement. "Don't worry, you're not the first cat to experience those. You should have seen Blackclaw when Mistyfoot had her kits. We thought he was going to wear a hole in the ground."

Fireheart tried to relax, then flinched as another yowl from Sandstorm rose from the nursery. "Why do you think it's taking so long?"

"It's probably a large litter. I was out for a while with Mistyfoot, Stonefur, and Mosskit," Bluestar told him. The rest of the Clan was aware of the truth of the former RiverClan warriors' birth, and although they were shocked, they soon came to accept it. "And sometimes, a queen just takes a while to give birth. Have patience, Fireheart. Your kits will be here soon enough."

Fireheart wished it were that easy, but his mind couldn't help thinking of all the worst possible scenarios that could occur. Sandstorm might bleed to death, just like Silverstream had all those moons ago. The kits might be born sickly and weak, or worse, be born dead. Worst of all, Sandstorm _and _the kits might die, and he would lose his mate and children in one day.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Sandstorm and their kits would all be perfectly happy and healthy, but for some reason, Fireheart had lost his ability to think optimistically.

_Are they even supposed to be born yet? _he wondered. How long did queens usually carry their kits before they were born?

Finally, after what felt like lifetimes of waiting, Cinderpelt emerged from the nursery. Fireheart looked over to her questioningly. She gave him a nod, and he made a beeline for the nursery entrance, followed by Bluestar. As he pushed his way through the thick bracken, he was greeted by the sight of his mate, her green eyes glowing with a mixture of pride and exhaustion. Four tiny kits were suckling at her belly.

"They're beautiful," he breathed, slightly afraid of what would happen if he raised his voice any further.

"Aren't they?" Sandstorm asked, gazing down at the four kits with an expression of pure happiness. "We have two daughters and two sons."

"You both should be very proud," Brindleface meowed. She had stayed in the nursery to help her daughter while she was kitting. "They all look like fine, healthy kits."

"And look, they've inherited your size," Bluestar meowed to Fireheart.

Fireheart stuck his tongue out at his leader as everyone else chuckled at him. Then Sandstorm meowed, "I've already decided on a name for this little brown and white molly, but what do you want to call the others?"

The flame-colored warrior looked over at each of the three unnamed kits. There was a dark ginger molly with an unusually fluffy tail, a ginger and white tom with glossy fur, and a tortoiseshell tom with a ginger tail that looked strikingly similar to Sandstorm's deceased father, Redtail.

"Redkit for the tortoiseshell," Fireheart decided. "He looks so much like Redtail, it's the only name that fits."

"I like it," Sandstorm purred. "What about the other two? The little ginger molly looks an awful lot like you. Why don't we name her Firekit or Flamekit?"

"I think naming a kit after me would be a curse," Fireheart meowed seriously, and Sandstorm laughed but nodded all the same. "She'll grow up to be a code-breaker if we do that."

"Her tail is awfully fluffy," Bluestar noted. "What about Squirrelkit?"

"That's a good name," Fireheart agreed, privately relieved that Bluestar hadn't gone through with her threat of naming one of his children Moonkit. Of course, there was still one more to go, so he knew not to let his guard down just yet.

"What about the last one?" Sandstorm asked, gesturing to the ginger and white tom.

Fireheart studied the small kit carefully. His fur was so glossy that he was almost tempted to name him Shinekit...but no, that sounded stupid. Gingerkit sounded better than Shinekit, but it was still a little dull of a name. And there wasn't _quite _enough white on his pelt for Snowkit or Whitekit to work either.

_Okay, forget about appearances, _he thought to himself. _Maybe we could name him after another cat? _

He thought harder. Naming him after either of his parents was out of the question. Part of him wanted to name him after Bluestar, but he felt as though that honor should go to Mistyfoot or Stonefur. Fireheart supposed that Brindlekit would work, but they had already decided to name one of their children after Sandstorm's father and he didn't think they needed to give both her parents namesakes.

Suddenly, it hit him like a bolt of lightning, or perhaps StarClan had taken pity on him and his terrible naming skills.

"Longkit," he murmured.

"What did you say?" Sandstorm asked, frowning.

"Longkit," Fireheart repeated, more clearly this time. "In memory of Longtail."

His mate purred. "That sounds perfect, Fireheart."

"What were you going to call the last molly?" Fireheart asked, gesturing toward the small brown and white kit.

"Well...it's actually a name I picked out as soon as I found out I was expecting," Sandstorm admitted, her eyes shining. "I've decided to call her Lavenderkit, for the queen you knew when you were a kit."

For a moment, Fireheart was lost for words. Then he purred happily, gently nuzzling his mate's cheek to show his gratitude.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"Squirrelkit, Redkit, Longkit, and Lavenderkit," Brindleface meowed. "You chose fine names for all of them."

"Better start thinking of warrior names for them, Bluestar," Fireheart joked. "One day, you're going to blink and it'll be time for their warrior ceremonies already."

Bluestar chuckled at him but didn't respond. "Let's leave Sandstorm to rest now," she meowed. "The rest of the Clan should be dying to know if everything went according to plan."

"I think Cinderpelt probably told them already, but if you insist," Fireheart replied, allowing himself to be herded out of the nursery.

As he stepped out of the nursery, he was immediately bombarded by a flurry of questions from his Clanmates.

"How are the kits?"

"Are they healthy?"

"What did you name them?"

"How many are there?"

"Is Sandstorm okay?"

Fireheart lifted his head and replied proudly, "She's doing just fine. We have four healthy kits."

The Clan broke out into delighted purrs. Several cats, including Mistyfoot, Stonefur, Cloudtail, Whitestorm, all of the apprentices, and Cinderpelt, came up and congratulated him personally. Even Smallear, aroused by the sound of voices, gave him a nod of respect from the elders' den. Everyone's spirits, it seemed, had been lifted by the news that there were four future warriors for ThunderClan.

_Yes, _Fireheart thought to himself. _It's been a good day for a change. _

Looking around at the pleased expressions of his Clanmates, it was almost possible to forget the threat of TigerClan looming over them like an ominous shadow.

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, guys! Also sorry it's so short...but hey, the kits are here! Yay! **

**Er...that does make up for it, right? Guys? Hello? Is that a knife? **

**Thanks for reading! **

**-TheShadowedWarrior**


	29. The Attack

**Sorry for the long wait! I honestly haven't been able to think of inspiration for this story, but I figured I might as well try to get out a chapter. **

**Guest: A molly is just a term for a female cat. That's it. Nothing special. Nothing to be confused about.**

* * *

"Fireheart? Would you like to join us? We're going out to hunt for a bit."

Fireheart glanced up at Mistyfoot and Stonefur from where he was relaxing by the edge of the camp. "Sure," he agreed, rising to his paws. "Let's go.

The three warriors padded through the forest, their senses alert for any sign of prey. It was becoming more difficult to find anything to catch, what with the cold gripping the forest, but the hunting patrols usually still had some good fortune. Fireheart just prayed that their luck would continue to last for at least a little while longer. With the threat of TigerClan still hanging in the air, the last thing they needed was to go hungry.

A rustling sound in the bushes caught his attention. Fireheart glanced to his side to see Stonefur creeping up towards a mouse burrowing through a dead bush, seemingly oblivious to its surroundings. Before the creature could detect him, he pounced, killing it swiftly in one bite.

"Well done," Fireheart meowed. Stonefur dipped his head in acknowledgment.

"You know, most RiverClan warriors are poor land prey hunters," Mistyfoot commented as her brother buried his catch under some leaves. "Part of our warrior assessments used to require us to catch at least three pieces of land prey, but we had to change it to just one because too many apprentices were failing and didn't earn their warrior names on time as a result."

"Really? Why was that a requirement?" Fireheart asked in confusion. There was a stream in ThunderClan territory that occasionally had fish enter, but catching fish had never been part of any ThunderClan warrior assessments.

"It was to make sure that RiverClan warriors would be prepared for the worst-case scenario in which we couldn't rely on the river for food," the blue-gray queen explained. "Of course, that didn't exactly work out last time, as you know."

Fireheart chuckled sheepishly at the not-so-subtle reminder. A few seasons ago, the river had been contaminated by Twolegs, which meant that RiverClan couldn't eat the fish it supplied. He and Graystripe had offered to hunt for the starving Clan and had provided them with prey from their own territory. Unfortunately, they had been caught by Tigerclaw, and Bluestar had punished them by forcing them to live as apprentices with Longtail acting as their mentor.

They continued on their way for a while, stopping whenever they came across an unwary squirrel, vole, or other prey. The two RiverClan warriors were natural forest hunters, although Fireheart supposed that wasn't entirely a surprise. After all, they did have ThunderClan blood.

"Hey, Stonefur?" he meowed after a few moments. "What do you two plan on doing when all this is over?"

"What do you mean?" Stonefur asked, setting down the blackbird he had just caught.

"Well, were you planning on staying with ThunderClan or were you planning on going back to RiverClan at some point?" Fireheart asked. "I mean...assuming there ever _is _a RiverClan again...but I don't think StarClan would allow TigerClan to last forever. So when the time comes, what are you two going to do?"

The former RiverClan warriors looked thoughtful. "I don't know," Mistyfoot answered finally. "On one hand, RiverClan is the Clan we spent our entire lives in. We grew up believing that we were pure RiverClan warriors, and we intended to dedicate our lives to RiverClan and RiverClan alone."

"But on the other hand, we can't just pass up an opportunity to get to know our mother," Stonefur added. "Don't get me wrong, Graypool was a wonderful mother to us even if she didn't actually give birth to us. But it would be nice to get to know Bluestar as well. And anyway...I'm not sure I can ever forgive RiverClan for what they did. They _knew _we were loyal warriors–they must have, seeing as Leopardstar trusted me enough to name me her deputy. That honor isn't given lightly, you know. Yet the moment they found out we were half-Clan, it was only too easy for them to turn on us. They didn't lift a paw to help us when Tigerstar's warriors were starving us and keeping us in an abandoned fox hole, and some of them–Blackclaw, for one–even encouraged it. RiverClan might have been the Clan we grew up in, but when it really counted, it was ThunderClan, not RiverClan, who had our backs."

"It's too early to make a permanent decision now," Mistyfoot meowed. "And who knows, maybe we'll forgive Leopardstar and our former Clanmates one day. But for now, I have to say that staying in ThunderClan doesn't sound like too bad of an option."

Fireheart nodded thoughtfully, continuing on his way in silence for a while. He wondered what he would have done if he were in Mistyfoot and Stonefur's position right now. If ThunderClan suddenly turned on him, would he be willing to consider forgiving them? Somehow, he wasn't sure if he would, especially coming from cats like Bluestar, Whitestorm, Graystripe, and Sandstorm.

Then again, he had a bad habit of being too kind to others, so there was a good chance that he would end up forgiving his Clanmates anyway. Hopefully, he wouldn't ever have to find out for real.

Eventually, the three warriors returned to the camp. The prey had been noticeably scarce, but they had managed to gather a respectable load. Fireheart deposited his portion of the catch onto the fresh-kill pile before padding over to join Bluestar and Whitestorm by the Highrock. Bluestar purred in greeting when she saw him and Whitestorm acknowledged him with a respectful dip of the head.

"Fireheart," Bluestar meowed warmly. "How was your hunt?"

"Cold," Fireheart answered bluntly, and the two older warriors chuckled. "But we at least managed to catch something, so it wasn't entirely a waste."

"It's not that cold," Whitestorm noted. "The worst of it has yet to come."

"Hey, you try having short fur and see how you enjoy it," Fireheart protested until he saw the glimmer of amusement in the older tom's eyes.

"You're lucky, though. Your fur dries faster than ours," Bluestar pointed out.

"Fantastic," the flame-colored warrior deadpanned. "I might freeze to death, but at least when it rains, I'll be soaking wet for a slightly shorter amount of time than you. I must be blessed by StarClan."

Bluestar rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off as Mudclaw suddenly came bursting into their camp. The WindClan warrior's fur was torn and dripping with blood, and he seemed hardly able to stay on his paws. Fireheart stared at his enemy in shock. What had happened?

"We need your help, Bluestar," Mudclaw wheezed. "TigerClan is attacking our camp!"


End file.
